Bengoh assemblyperson Dr Jerip Susil is upset over talk that he is still not in the good books of his political boss Dr George Chan, and may not even be nominated again to contest the upcoming state election.

His dismay increased when a newspaper reported that some party members had approached Chan - the Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) president and a deputy chief minister - to express  their “opinion” on why they no longer support him and want him replaced.

The implied message is that Jerip is not a ‘winnable candidate’ and that, if BN head and premier Najib Abdul Razak is to be believed, Jerip is as good as gone.

Najib had bluntly told SUPP last December  that it must come up with winnable candidates for the state election - due by July - and that he would reject the name of any candidate from the party deemed as not capable of winning.

NONE Asked about the possibility that he may be dropped, Jerip (left) said he had spoken at length with federal Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui and Chan, who both assured him that he would be retained.

“The intention of the newspaper report is to politically destablise me and to create a false public impression, and in the end, to convince the party leadership that I am no longer a winnable candidate,” he said.

“I do not take the negative implications of the newspaper report as I know my strengths. But when I was informed by (state assembly speaker) Asfia Awang Nasar and (veteran politician) Adenan Satem that the public may have a different perception of my support in Bengoh, I immediately called in key people in my constituency.”

He explained that this was to “rectify” the situation so it would not confuse the people on the ground.

Jerip said there were people who wanted to take advantage of an incident in 2006 to create the impression that he is no longer in the good books of the party leadership.

“These include people who aspire to be the candidate in Bengoh, and I know who they are. Some are my best friends and some are political adversaries from within the party,” he added.

Raising the past

Jerip, who switched his allegiance to SUPP after leaving the State Reform Party, first tasted victory in Bengoh in the 2001 election, which he contested on a BN ticket, and retained in 2006.

It is believed that som george chan supp 031106 e party members - said to be supporters of Chan (right) - want him replaced because of his close association with State Public Health and Environment Minister Wong Soon Koh, who is not on the best of terms with Chan.

Soon after the 2006 election, Wong had led a group of SUPP assemblypersons, including Jerip and central working committee members, in rebelling against Chan but failed to oust him.

This group included deputy president Law Hieng Ding, former vice-president the late Robert Lau Hoi Chiew, and Sibu member of parliament and Sibu municipal council chairperson Tiong Thai King.

They blamed Chan for the party’s worst outing in a state election, losing eight out of 19 seats contested.

The group proposed that Wong should take over the presidency. Some close associates of Chan suspected that Chief Minister and Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu chairperson Abdul Taib Mahmud was behind the move, though this has never been proven.

For unknown reasons, Wong then made an about-turn and said he gave his “total support” to Chan to continue leading the party.

This left Jerip and other rebels in the lurch. It also caught SUPP members by surprise, but Wong has not provided answers for his change of heart.

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