SUPP veteran accuses top leadership of ignoring party constitution, promoting ‘yellow shirt’ factionalism

KUCHING (March 31): Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) veteran Pung Teng Hong has openly blasted the party’s top leadership, accusing them of ignoring the party constitution and allowing factionalism to flourish within the ranks.

Speaking at a press conference at SUPP headquarters here on Tuesday, the 90-year-old Pung also denounced the current leadership, including party president Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, over the recent expulsion of Kuching branch chairwoman Datuk Lily Yong and branch secretary Voong Nam Jin.

“The leadership has condoned the proliferation of ‘yellow shirts’— a factional symbol—and disregarded the party’s uniform rules. According to the party constitution, male members should wear white shirts with black pants, and female members should wear white blouses with black skirts.

“Since Dr Sim took power, party leaders have attended events and meetings in yellow shirts for personal or factional reasons, completely blurring the party’s uniform standards,” he said.

“These acts of ignoring party rules and arbitrarily altering traditions have made this longstanding political party unrecognisable, and constitute a blatant collapse of the system.”

Earlier, a tense situation unfolded when Pung was stopped by party staff upon his arrival at SUPP headquarters and told that he could not hold the press conference at the premises without approval by the top leadership.

This led to an argument, with Pung insisting that the party headquarters belonged to all party members and was not the “private estate” of the central leadership.

“This headquarters is the hard-earned result of donations from countless grassroots members,” he said, before being allowed to conduct the press conference.

However, within 10 minutes of starting the press conference, tensions went up again when a staff interrupted Pung and told him that SUPP secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting was on the phone requesting a face-to-face discussion.

Pung took the call and was involved in a heated exchange with Ting, insisting that the issue at hand was party business and not personal disputes.

“If we can’t discuss party matters at the party headquarters, then where can we? This is simply a ridiculous joke!” he exclaimed.

He repeatedly emphasised that as a party member, he had the “absolute right to speak”, and that the headquarters should never be “privatised or silenced” by individual leaders.

He also declared that he would have no issue if SUPP were to expel him for supposedly violating party rules by holding the press conference.

“If the central leadership wants to expel me, fine! But I had to hold this press conference today, and I will speak every word of the truth—not one will be left out!”