BEHIND closed doors, 517 delegates of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) triennial delegates conference (TDC) in Kuching met yesterday to see through a “no-election” for the party’s central committee (CC) posts and to chart a course to the general election next year.

On Thursday, the president of the smallest component member of Sarawak Barisan Nasional, Dr Sim Kui Hian disclosed that the top five positions on the CC – president, secretary-general, two deputy presidents and treasurer – will see no election.

One of the two deputy president posts has been vacant since 2011, reserved for the leader of the breakaway faction, who is now in the United People’s Party (UPP), in the event of a reconciliation.

Sim, who is the state Local Government and Housing Minister, said there was no election for the five posts as the party’s central secretariat did not receive the required five nominations to trigger a contest when nomination closed at 4pm on Thursday.

In fact, there was no contest at all.

Sim was yesterday returned as the CC president for another term, while the deputy president, Human Resources Minister Richard Riot, and secretary-general, Piasau assemblyman Sebastian Ting also retained their posts.

Sarawak Assistant Minister of Women, Welfare, Family and Community Wellbeing Francis Harden takes over the treasurer post from Sarikei MP Ding Kuong Hiing,

Bukit Assek branch chairman Chieng Buong Toon now fills the vacant deputy president post, which he took unchallenged.

All the 125 CC members were elected unopposed.

“No contests. All nominated,” an aide to Riot said.

“Nothing important happened. Steady as she goes,” another delegate said.

Political analyst Dr James Chin said he believed the TDC was “quiet” because the party was now bereft of vocal members, and the few who remained in the party were “keeping their powder dry for the moment”.

The University of Tasmania, Asia Institute faculty member said the “anti-Sim faction” are “waiting to see the 14th general election result before making any move”.

“Anyway the faction is too small to make any noise as all the main vocal critics are now in UPP,” Chin said referring to those who had left SUPP to form the  United People’s Party after the 2014 TDC turmoil.

“The general consensus is also that Sim has done a good job as a minister,” he said, of why Sim has had it  easy at this TDC.

Though reports said 21 delegates spoke, it was not quite sure what they spoke on or if they had broached controversial issues, such as the party position on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd financial scandal.

At the post-TDC media conference, all Sim would say was that the  party had taken up Riot’s and other delegates’ suggestion that the party opposed any proposal by the Barisan Nasional to field direct candidates in GE14.

In his opening address, Riot said he was against the BN policy of fielding direct candidates in the general election, calling it a failed concept that defeated the “BN spirit of team game”.

“BN plays the team game. If you don’t belong to a team, you don’t belong to BN,” Riot said.

“The direct BN candidate concept defeats the BN spirit of team game and it is for that I say the BN must do away with that failed concept.”

Sim said the TDC had resolved to reject such a move should BN again decide to field such candidates.

In last year’s state election, the BN fielded direct candidates in some constituencies traditionally allocated to SUPP to appease the pro-BN UPP.

Sim said the delegates did not want a repeat of that in GE14. – December 23, 2017.