THE Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and its rebels in the United People’s Party (UPP) are nowhere near resolving the dispute between them.

But Chief Minister and state BN chairman Abang Johari Openg was optimistic that a resolution would found before the next general election.

“Negotiation is ongoing. At this moment I cannot reveal what had been discussed,” he said after the state BN Supreme Council meeting today.

A source said the issue, and the question of BN fielding direct candidates in constituencies – which have resulted in a tussle between the two parties – were raised but “not discussed in detail”.

The source said the chief minister gave “a strong hint” to SUPP president Dr Sim Kui Hian who was present to resolve the dispute “without too many complications”.

UPP president Wong Soon Koh was not present because his party is not a member of BN.

“He basically gave them time to resolve their dispute before he stepped in,” the source said.

The dispute has always been an issue for the state BN at elections, although both Sim and Wong are in Abang Johari’s “BN Plus” cabinet.

The pro-BN UPP was formed by leaders and members who are aligned to Wong that lost in the 22nd Triennial Delegates Conference in December 2011.

Wong, who was running for the presidency to succeed Dr George Chan, said there were irregularities in the election of several branches in the lead up to the TDC.

He then filed a complaint with the Registrar of Societies.

The ROS in 2014, however, found no such irregularities and decided not to de-register the party. This led to mass resignation by Wong and his supporters including several state assemblymen.

BN found a way around the tussle for seats between the two parties by fielding what they called “direct BN candidates” – candidates picked by the BN supreme council.

However, at the just-concluded TDC last month, SUPP made a stand against the policy when it endorsed deputy president Richard Riot’s proposal to oppose the fielding of direct candidates in the 14th general election.

Riot, who is also the human resources minister, said the policy is a “failed concept” as it defeats the BN spirit of playing as a team.

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

Another SUPP-UPP squabble over seats is looming ahead of the election as UPP has already laid claim to several seats in and around their stronghold of Sibu.

The seats are Bandar Sibu, Lanang and Sarikei – amounting to half of the seven seats traditionally allocated to SUPP.

In the 2013 general election, SUPP lost six of the seven seats – five to DAP and one to PKR.

All six seats are urban Chinese majority seats.

SUPP won only Riot’s rural Serian seat, a predominantly Dayak seat. – January 12, 2018.