Senator Sim Kui Hian is set to be the next president of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Richard Riot will remain as the deputy president.

Sebastian Ting and Ding Kuong Hing will be the secretary-general and the treasurer-general respectively, if everything goes according to the plan today.

Outgoing president Peter Chin said that as there were no contests for the top posts, Sim would be the next president of the party and Richard would remain as the deputy president.

“This is the proposed new line-up,” he said, pointing out that the party’s triennial delegates conference (TDC) this time was very “good” as compared to the previous TDC which had been boycotted by a faction of the party led by former deputy secretary-general Wong Soon Koh.

The boycott and the complaints against the conduct of the election led to the sacking of Wong  and three other elected representatives and the formation of the United People’s Party.

Chin ( right ) said that the party was almost deregistered due to the internal crisis and is now fighting for its survival.

“It is trying its best to face the coming state election. Everybody realises that if we don’t get ourselves united and go into the election, we will have problems winning our seats.

“The fact that we are not quarreling among ourselves in this TDC is a good start in facing the election,” he said.

He believed that the party was more united this time around as compared with the past.

Chin said: “We have set out our task to transform the party by getting younger leaders to take over the leadership of the party.

“We hope the public  will look at us favorably and hope the Chinese community would give the party a chance to try out our new leaders by rallying behind them,” he said.

Due to the internal bickering, the party did badly in the 2011 state election, losing 13 out of 19 seats it contested; and in the 2013 parliamentary election, it lost six Chinese-majority seats.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak  will address the party’s meeting later this afternoon.