Sarawak United Peoples' Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Malay name | Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak |
| Abbreviation | SUPP |
| President | Sim Kui Hian |
| Secretary-General | Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew |
| Deputy Presidents | Richard Riot Jaem Lee Kim Shin |
| Chairman of Central Youth Section | Kevin Lau Kor Jie |
| Chairwoman of Central Women's Section | Kho Teck Wan |
| Founder | Ong Kee Hui Stephen Yong Kuet Tze |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Headquarters | 7, Jalan Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui, 93300Kuching,Sarawak |
| Newspaper | SA 'ATI (United) |
| Youth wing | SUPP Youth Section |
| Women's wing | SUPP Women's Section |
| Political position | Centre |
| National affiliation | •Malaysian Solidarity Convention (1965) •Alliance (1970–73) •Barisan Nasional (1973–2018) •Gabungan Parti Sarawak (2018–now) |
| Colours | Yellow, red, black |
| Anthem | Sa'ati |
| Dewan Negara: | 1 / 70 |
| Dewan Rakyat: | 2 / 31 (Sarawak seats) |
| Sarawak State Legislative Assembly: | 13 / 82 |
| Website | |
| www | |
| This article is part ofa series on the |
| Politics of Malaysia |
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TheSarawak United Peoples' Party (abbrev:SUPP;Malay:Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak) is amultiracial local political party of Malaysia based inSarawak. The SUPP president isDr. Sim Kui Hian. He succeeded the post from his predecessor,Peter Chin Fah Kui in 2014. Established in 1959, SUPP is the first political party inSarawak. It has its roots inleft-leaning ideologies,nationalism and championing for the cause of the working class.[citation needed] Formerly it was one of the Sarawak component members ofBarisan Nasional from 1970 until June 2018.[note 1] Together with other Sarawak-based BN component parties, SUPP always has had tension in its relationship with its Peninsula-based partners.[1] After the2018 general election defeat of BN had proven that the model was no longer viable, and following a key meeting between all Sarawak-based BN coalition parties on 12 June 2018, SUPP has decided to leave BN to co-form a new Sarawak-based coalition ofGabungan Parti Sarawak.[2]
Being the first local political party, Sarawak United Peoples' Party's origins are tied to Sarawak's history of 20th century political awakening. After World War II, the last Rajah of Sarawak,Charles Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to Britain in 1946, thus making it an officialBritish Crown Colony – to the dismay of many locals. This eventually gave rise to localanti-cession and anti-imperialist movements which further sparked local political awareness. The triggering event was Sarawak's new Constitution of 1959 which fell short of expectations for many who hoped to see significant progress to self-governance. The need for an organised political front to champion Sarawakian interests finally led to the formation of SUPP on 4 June 1959, withOng Kee Hui as its founding president.[3] With a "Sarawak for Sarawakians" ideology – SUPP's movement gained widespread support, including winning big in the local elections of November 1959, alarming the then ruling British colonial government. When the proposal for Federation of Malaysia was first mooted in 1961, SUPP came out strongly to oppose the idea. Ong argued for Sarawak's independence before setting up a greater federation.[3][4][5]
In December 1962, the British colonial government launched a crackdown on all dissenting groups in Sarawak. Many party members were detained, some even deported from Sarawak for alleged communist activities as, at the time, some members had links with Communist-affiliated organisations.[note 2] Nonetheless, SUPP still did well at the Sarawak elections of June 1963 but it left one-seat-short of a majority to form government, thus it remained as the opposition party. On 22 July 1963, Sarawak gained independent self-governance from Britain. On 16 September, Sarawak together with the Federation of Malaya, Singapore and North Borneo (Sabah) jointly founded the Federation of Malaysia. In June 1965, the government launched “Operation Hammer” to counter prevailing communist threats.[6] Party leaders vehemently protested when about 10,000 Sarawakians men, women and children were forced to resettle under curfew – surrounded by barb-wire fencing – including more than a hundred SUPP members. Party leaders initiated daily visits to the resettlement centres to monitor the welfare of the detainees, but later, even this was barred by the government.
In May 1969, due to13 May riots in Peninsular Malaysia, an Emergency Proclamation was declared across the country, suspending an ongoing elections in Sarawak. When the Sarawak elections resumed in 1970, SUPP emerged as the single party with largest number of votes, but no party has control of majority seats to form a government. Considering that this crisis for a functioning government occurred at a time when, on one hand, a state of turmoil post-13 May was still present, while on the other hand, people were rounded-up and detained without trial – SUPP accepted the invitation to form a coalition government to stabilise the situation. In exchange, the government agreed to SUPP demand that party secretary-generalStephen Yong be appointed to the State Operations Committee (the security directorate) so that the party can influence counter-insurgency operations to look after the welfare of SUPP detainees including Chinese settlers, in the resettlement centres.[7][8] In the ensuing years, SUPP generally had wide support at the polls even during the 2008Malaysian general election where most of its allies suffered.[9]
However, it is no stranger to major setbacks at the polls: In the1996 Sarawak election, its then president, the late Wong Soon Kai was defeated and thereafter decided to retire from politics.[10] A similar situation happened in2011 Sarawak election when the then party president,George Chan Hong Nam was unseated. It also lost at theSibu by-election of 2010. In the2013 Malaysian general election, the party won only 1 out of 7 seats contested. Not long after, Wong Soon Koh, who was then the deputy secretary-general, left with his faction and eventually set up a separate splinter-party with a similar-sounding name, calledUnited People's Party (UPP).[11]
A positive turnaround was marked in the2016 Sarawak election when SUPP, with current party presidentSim Kui Hian at the helm, went on to win 7 seats out of 15 contested. After establishing new leadership line-up and reforms including amending the party constitution to limit the tenure of the president himself, the party placed renewed focus on the pursuit of more Sarawakian autonomous power and rights within Malaysia based on the unique contexts of the federation's formation, as originally outlined in theMalaysia Agreement 1963, Inter-Governmental Committee Report, and the Report of theCobbold Commission.[12][13][14][15]
SUPP Central Working Committee (2025-2027)[edit]Source:[16]
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SUPP only has 2 MP in theHouse of Representatives.
| State | No. | Parliament Constituency | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sarawak | P199 | Serian | Richard Riot Jaem | SUPP | ||
| Sarawak | P208 | Sarikei | Huang Tiong Sii | SUPP | ||
| Total | Sarawak (2) | |||||
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
| State | No. | Parliamentary Constituency | No. | State Constituency | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarawak | P192 | Mas Gading | N1 | Opar | Bily Sujang | SUPP | |
| P196 | Stampin | N12 | Kota Sentosa | Wilfred Yap Yau Sin | SUPP | ||
| N13 | Batu Kitang | Lo Khere Chiang | SUPP | ||||
| N14 | Batu Kawah | Sim Kui Hian | SUPP | ||||
| P202 | Sri Aman | N32 | Simanggang | Francis Harden Hollis | SUPP | ||
| P208 | Sarikei | N45 | Repok | Huang Tiong Sii | SUPP | ||
| N46 | Meradong | Ding Kuong Hiing | SUPP | ||||
| P211 | Lanang | N51 | Bukit Assek | Joseph Chieng Jin Ek | SUPP | ||
| P212 | Sibu | N54 | Pelawan | Michael Tiang Ming Tee | SUPP | ||
| P217 | Bintulu | N68 | Tanjong Batu | Johnny Pang Leong Ming | SUPP | ||
| P219 | Miri | N73 | Piasau | Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew | SUPP | ||
| N74 | Pujut | Adam Yii Siew Sang | SUPP | ||||
| N75 | Senadin | Lee Kim Shin | SUPP | ||||
| Total | Sarawak (13) | ||||||
| Election | Total seats won | Seats contested | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome of election | Election leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 3 / 159 | 12 | Appointed by Council Negri |  3 seats;Opposition | Ong Kee Hui | |
| 1969 | 5 / 144 | 12 | 71,293 | 2.97% | 2 seats;Opposition, laterGoverning coalition (allied withAlliance Party) | Ong Kee Hui |
| 1974 | 7 / 144 | 7 | 64,235 | 2 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Ong Kee Hui | |
| 1978 | 6 / 154 | 7 | 52,222 |  1 seat;Governing coalition(Barisan Nasional) | Ong Kee Hui | |
| 1982 | 5 / 154 | 7 | 81,993 | 1 seat;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Stephen Yong Kuet Tze | |
| 1986 | 4 / 177 | 7 | 93,018 | 1.96% | 1 seat;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Stephen Yong Kuet Tze |
| 1990 | 4 / 180 | 7 | 102,687 |  ;Governing coalition(Barisan Nasional) | Wong Soon Kai | |
| 1995 | 7 / 192 | 7 | 116,403 | 3 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Wong Soon Kai | |
| 1999 | 7 / 193 | 7 | 129,356 | ;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | George Chan Hong Nam | |
| 2004 | 6 / 219 | 7 | 101,869 | 1.46% | 1 seat;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | George Chan Hong Nam |
| 2008 | 6 / 222 | 7 | 119,264 | 1.50% | ;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | George Chan Hong Nam |
| 2013 | 1 / 222 | 7 | 133,603 | 1.21% | 5 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Peter Chin Fah Kui |
| 2018 | 1 / 222 | 7 | 122,540 | 1.01% | ;Opposition coalition (Barisan Nasional), laterGoverning coalition (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) | Sim Kui Hian |
| 2022 | 2 / 222 | 7 | 167,063 | 1.08% | 1 seat;Governing coalition (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) | Sim Kui Hian |
| State election | State Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|---|
| Sarawak | Total won / Total contested | |
| 2/3 majority | 2 / 3 | |
| 1969/1970 | 12 / 48 | 12 / 40 |
| 1974 | 12 / 48 | 12 / 15 |
| 1979 | 11 / 48 | 11 / 12 |
| 1983 | 11 / 48 | 11 / 12 |
| 1987 | 11 / 48 | 11 / 14 |
| 1991 | 16 / 56 | 16 / 17 |
| 1996 | 13 / 62 | 13 / 17 |
| 2001 | 16 / 62 | 16 / 17 |
| 2006 | 11 / 71 | 11 / 19 |
| 2011 | 6 / 71 | 6 / 19 |
| 2016 | 7 / 82 | 7 / 13 |
| 2021 | 13 / 82 | 13 / 18 |
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