The Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) is to ask the state government to re-consider its decision in appointing a senior civil servant instead of a party member to the post of mayor of Kuching City South.

Supp chairperson Dr George Chan, also deputy chief minister, met party leaders in Kuching last night after some expressed unhappiness with the decision.

The new mayor, Chong Ted Tsiung , 49, is controller of the Natural Resources and Environment Board.

A Supp Kuching branch leader, who asked not be identified, said deputy secretary-general Wong Soon Koh has been assigned to seek a meeting with Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud ( photo ).

However, the source said he was not hopeful of a change of mind, since the state cabinet had approved the appointment last week.

The source also said Chan had told party colleagues that one reason for the government's choice arose from the party's dismal performance in Kuching during the state elections earlier this year.

"If a civil servant can do a good job in looking after Kuching City, what is there to stop the government from appointing civil servants to look after Sibu and Miri as well?" asked the source.

Waning influence?

This development has also led to questions being asked of Supp's influence in the government.

The Star today quoted Chan as saying that the party should have been consulted over the appointment and that the next mayor should be from the party.

At least six party members have been campaigning for the post since it was vacated by branch leader Chan Seng Khai. He resigned after losing his bid to win a state seat.

At the top of the list, said sources, was information chief Alfred Yap who was defeated by DAP's Chong Chieng Jen ( photo ) in the new state seat of Kota Sentosa, on the outskirts of Kuching.

Supp had held the chairmanship of the former Kuching Municipal Council (KMC) since the 1963 local council elections. After Kuching was declared a city in 1988, Supp member Song Swee Guan was appointed the first mayor of Kuching City South.

A serving or retired civil servant has always headed Kuching City North (which covers part of the commercial areas under the former KMC, as well as the Malay areas on the north bank) as mayor since 1988.

However, the government's decision to appoint a non-politician as mayor of Kuching City South did not come as a surprise to some political observers.

"After Supp lost Pending, Batu Lintang, Padungan and Kota Sentosa (Chinese-majority seats in Kuching) to the opposition, it would be difficult to justify the appointment of a party member as mayor - more so a defeated candidate," said an observer.

"(The government) would be only too aware of the possible consequences for the next parliamentary elections."