Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) has called on the Chief Minister Adenan Satem to sack Local Government and Community Development Minister Wong Soon Koh and Assistant Public Health Minister Jerip Susil as from the state cabinet as they no longer represent SUPP.

They won their seats on the BN-SUPP ticket in the 2011 state election and have been sacked and Wong and Jerip have since formed their own party, the United People’s Party (UPP).

“They should resign or be sacked from the cabinet,” SUPP urged Adenan (left), adding that it has the right to defend all the 19 seats that have been allocated to the party and that its right to defend the seats is not negotiable.

SUPP also strongly objected to any move to admit UPP and Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) into the Barisan Nasional whether at state or federal levels.

These calls were among resolutions adopted by the party at end of its 23rd triennial delegates conference (TDC) hat was held yesterday.

SUPP said that in order to protect and safeguard the BN constitution, any admission by any new political party into the BN must have the unanimous support of all the existing component parties

'Najib’s support for SUPP is a clear message'

Meanwhile, the intentions of UPP and Teras to be admitted into the BN “is as good as dead” if what BN chairperson and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s statement at the SUPP conference yesterday is anything to go by.

Najib made it very clearly that he stands by SUPP as a party that has principles.

Najib told the SUPP leaders and members at the party's triennial delegates conference: “You have gone through hell, (and), I want you to come back stronger and to be ready to fight for the BN and be ready to contribute to BN in the next (state) election.

“We are only strong as the sum of every individual party within BN. If we are together collectively, we are stronger.”

UPP was formed in July this year by Wong, the former SUPP deputy secretary-general and three other elected state representatives after they were sacked from SUPP for trying to deregister SUPP.

Likewise, Teras was formed by the sacked leaders of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) for gross insubordination.

In May this year SPDP president William Mawan Ikom (right) resigned from the party and joined the expelled SPDP leaders in Teras.

Both UPP and Teras have indicated their intention to join the BN and have discussed their application with Adenan, who is also state BN chairperson.

SUPP, SPDP, PRS (Parti Rakyat Sarawak), MCA and Gerakan oppose their admission to BN.

Even though the two parties are outside BN, Adenan not only retains Wong, Mawan and four other assistant ministers in his cabinet, but is trying to bring them together and has even urged them to talk with one another in the state BN parties.

Adenan’s efforts are fully supported by PBB and its leaders who are keen to have UPP and Teras in the government as they have between them nine assemblypersons.

However, PBB’s support for the two parties has made SUPP, SPDP and PRS unhappy, leaving Adenan with a ‘Catch 22’ situation.