The Borneo Post reported that SUPP accused Tiong of disrespecting the state Cabinet’s authority and undermining the spirit of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), of which both parties are members.
“By launching these public attacks, Tiong is not merely criticising a fellow party leader; he is demonstrating a profound lack of respect for the Sarawak Cabinet committee’s collective decisions and institutional authority,” SUPP said in a statement.
SUPP also said that the latest appointments of Chinese community leaders (KMKK) were strictly in line with the quotas set by the state Cabinet committee for each political party.
Tiong yesterday accused SUPP president Dr Sim Hui Kian of being power-hungry and crossing political boundaries by purportedly meddling in the appointment of community leaders and longhouse chiefs in Sibu.
He said the initial appointments were already finalised through consensus by a selection committee, but had been scrapped or amended by Sim.
Tiong also said that the PDP assemblymen for Dudong and Bawang Assan – himself and PDP senior vice-president Wong Soon Koh, respectively – were not consulted on the new appointments.
SUPP, however, said that Dudong had been recognised as a SUPP constituency since 1987.
“However, during the last state election, SUPP’s designated candidate was disqualified at the eleventh hour due to baseless accusations.
“The last-minute accusation caught our party completely off guard. As a result, PDP represented GPS in the election, with Tiong ‘parachuting’ into the constituency to contest.”
‘Systematic displacement’
SUPP also accused Tiong of conducting a “systematic replacement” of SUPP-recommended community leaders after his election as Dudong assemblyman, replacing them with PDP members.
It also spoke of a double standard, claiming that some community leaders were induced or threatened into leaving SUPP for PDP with the promise of KMKK posts.
“Is this unethical practice by PDP precisely what Tiong just accused Sim of doing: using community leadership appointments as a weapon to monopolise political influence?”
Tensions between the two GPS parties have been on the rise, especially after three assemblymen from the now-dissolved Parti Sarawak Bersatu joined PDP, taking with them three traditional SUPP seats.