Monday 6 October 2008

Sabah United Party (SUP)

Sabah will get a new political party which will be headed by Deputy Chief Minister and Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah.

Tan, who is Tanjong Papat Assemblyman, is said to have submitted to the Registrar of Society (ROS) in Kuala Lumpur the application to register the party and expected to get the approval within a week.

The new party will be applying to join Barisan Nasional (BN).

According to a close aide of the former Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) deputy president, Tan had submitted at least five names for the new party for the ROS to scrutinise. The party will likely be registered as Sabah United Party (Parti Perpaduan Sabah).

Once the new party is registered, Tan and the pro-tem committee members are expected to be joined by 15,000 SAPP members who are ready to ditch the party headed by Datuk Yong Teck Lee.

Among those who are expected to be in the new party line-up are Elopura assemblyman Au Kam Wah, and Jimmy Wong, the former Chief Political Secretary to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Tham Nyip Shen, who like Au had resigned from SAPP, and former Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Liew Yun Fah are among those likely to be teaming with Tan in the new party.

Tan and many founder leaders of SAPP are leaving the party formed in 1994 after Yong announced the party pulling out of Barisan Nasional on Sept 17, 2008.

Tan seemed to have taken Musa advice in forming a new political party as a vehicle to continue serve the people of Sabah through BN.

On Sept 21, Musa had said that SAPP members who had resigned from the party were welcome to join any of the BN component party or formed a new political party.

In another development, one elected representative who won on BN-SAPP ticket in the March 8, 2008 general elections is said to have met with top Umno leaders. The YB wanted to join the Kuala Lumpur-based party.

After the general election SAPP have two Members of Parliament - Datuk Eric majimbun (Sepanggar) and Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) and Member of the Sabah Legislative Assembly - DDatuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah (Tanjong Papat), Datuk Liew Teck Chan (Likas) Melanie Chia (Luyang) and Au Kam Wah (Elopura).

Tan and Au had quit SAPP eventhough the party said it was yet to see their resignation letters.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

sup is definitely out of the ordinary.. but its too out of the ordinary for a party name.

Anonymous said...

do sabahans want another mosquito political party. do barisan want another ldp, another pbrs? and now it looks like we are going to get party sup tulang headed by raymond tan. definately raymond will be a lame duck party president like v.k liew and joseph kurup.