SUPP sacks Wong Soon Koh

MIRI: The Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) have sacked its Sibu chairman and veteran leader Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh from the party with immediate effect, and has demanded that he vacate his position as state assemblyman of Bawang Assan state constituency to enable a by-election to be carried out.

SUPP president Tan Sri Peter Chin told The Star on Thursday that the party leadership today decided that Wong had to be sacked from the party following his (Wong's) move to declare that he is joining new party - TERAS.

SUPP, a component party of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional, is the state's oldest political party.

Chin said that the manner in which Wong abruptly announced his joining the new party (at about 5pm on Thursday in Kuching) was improper.

"Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh had not even sent us any resignation letter and yet he declared at a press conference that he is joining TERAS.

"I have just received news from Kuching that Soon Koh had announced in public his joining new party TERAS, which is a party that is not even in the Barisan Nasional.

 "Under the circumstances, our party central working committee had made an immediate decision that Soon Koh must be sacked with immediate effect.

"Soon Koh is the state assemblyman (for Bawang Assan), a constituency he won under the SUPP ticket.

"SUPP demands that he vacate his state assemblymen post since he has quit SUPP and is no longer with the BN.

"Soon Koh must publicly announce that he is resigning as state assemblyman also to enable a fresh by-election to be carried out in Bawang Assan.

"That is the proper thing for him to do since he had resigned from the SUPP under which he became a state assemblyman," said Chin, who is former Miri MP and former Cabinet Minister.

Chin, when asked what will happen if Wong refused to quit his state assembly seat, said that SUPP will continue to demand that he do so.

Wong announced in Kuching in a hurriedly-called press conference that he is joining TERAS.

Also at the press conference were several assemblymen, and also Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) president Tan Sri William Mawan, who also announced that he is quitting SPDP to join TERAS.

Chin said that the SUPP headquarters in Kuching will tomorrow sent a letter of termination to Soon Koh and to also tell him to vacate his state assemblyman's post.