SUPP to redress weaknesses after Sibu defeat
Published: Jun 16, 2010 8:25 AM | Updated: Jun 16, 2010 10:25 AM
The Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) will "take the bull by the horns" in rectifying its shortcomings following its defeat in the recent Sibu parliamentary seat by-election, said its president Dr George Chan.
He said the need for SUPP to effectively communicate with the grassroots was conveyed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who chaired the Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting in Kuala Lumpur, last night.
The Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) will "take the bull by the horns" in rectifying its shortcomings following its defeat in the recent Sibu parliamentary seat by-election, said its president Dr George Chan.
He said the need for SUPP to effectively communicate with the grassroots was conveyed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who chaired the Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting in Kuala Lumpur, last night.
"He (Najib) was very frank and supportive of us to change for the better by learning from our performance in the (Sibu) by-election, so as to be better prepared for the coming state election."
Dr Chan, who is also Sarawak deputy chief minister, said this after presenting the Shell Educational Excellence awards to 200 students in the form of scholarships and bursaries in Kuching today.
He said one the most glaring aspects was that the party needed to adopt progressive methods by fully utilising technology to explain government and policies and rebut the half-truths being spread by the opposition.
While the by-election's post-mortem indicated that announcing government allocations at the last moment should no longer be practised, he said, those relating to revision of premiums for renewal of land leases was a good thing as it was an ongoing exercise.
Dr Chan said the party would need to be competent in new ways of disseminating information to the people as the findings also showed that "politics are no longer the same like before" with the introduction of "street politics" by certain quarters to Sarawak voters.
"So, I have taken immediate action and even last night I sent SMSes to my boys to organise themselves because it's easier to rebut half-truths when they are prepared," he said, adding that the people were welcomed to communicate with him through his personal blog.
In the May 16 by-election, BN failed to retain the Sibu seat when its candidate Robert Lau Hui Yew was defeated by DAP's Wong Ho Leng in a three-cornered fight.
Earlier, Dr Chan said human resource capacity was one of the main priorities to meet the needs of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score), especially for the development of heavy industries, which needed specialised skills.
At present, Shell Malaysia invests RM14.5 million nationwide in providing educational assistance or in capacity-building programmes, including RM5.4 million allocated for Sarawak, an increase of RM2 million from last year.
- Bernama
He said the need for SUPP to effectively communicate with the grassroots was conveyed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who chaired the Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting in Kuala Lumpur, last night.
"He (Najib) was very frank and supportive of us to change for the better by learning from our performance in the (Sibu) by-election, so as to be better prepared for the coming state election."
Dr Chan, who is also Sarawak deputy chief minister, said this after presenting the Shell Educational Excellence awards to 200 students in the form of scholarships and bursaries in Kuching today.
He said one the most glaring aspects was that the party needed to adopt progressive methods by fully utilising technology to explain government and policies and rebut the half-truths being spread by the opposition.
While the by-election's post-mortem indicated that announcing government allocations at the last moment should no longer be practised, he said, those relating to revision of premiums for renewal of land leases was a good thing as it was an ongoing exercise.
Dr Chan said the party would need to be competent in new ways of disseminating information to the people as the findings also showed that "politics are no longer the same like before" with the introduction of "street politics" by certain quarters to Sarawak voters.
"So, I have taken immediate action and even last night I sent SMSes to my boys to organise themselves because it's easier to rebut half-truths when they are prepared," he said, adding that the people were welcomed to communicate with him through his personal blog.
In the May 16 by-election, BN failed to retain the Sibu seat when its candidate Robert Lau Hui Yew was defeated by DAP's Wong Ho Leng in a three-cornered fight.
Earlier, Dr Chan said human resource capacity was one of the main priorities to meet the needs of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score), especially for the development of heavy industries, which needed specialised skills.
At present, Shell Malaysia invests RM14.5 million nationwide in providing educational assistance or in capacity-building programmes, including RM5.4 million allocated for Sarawak, an increase of RM2 million from last year.
- Bernama
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