SIBU: Dudong assemblyman Datuk Dr Soon Choon Teck yesterday not only rejected offers for him to ‘return’ to SUPP Sibu branch but also threw at the party leadership two conditions for him to ‘work’ with the branch.

In a press conference yesterday, Dr Soon said his decision to reject the return offer and set the two conditions was not his alone but agreed upon in a meeting of his ‘Dudong branch committee’ on Wednesday.

Dr Soon said he had already written a reply to both SUPP president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan and SUPP Sibu branch chairman Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.

He was referring to an Aug 3 letter from Dr Chan that had advised him “to go back to SUPP Sibu branch as deputy chairman or vice chairman as a show of unity and back to normality”.

Acting on that advice, Wong wrote Dr Soon a letter inviting him to return as branch vice chairman. Wong gave Dr Soon seven days to reply.

Yesterday, Dr Soon told the media that he was not only rejecting all this but that he had set out two conditions in his letters to Dr Chan and Wong, if he must work with SUPP Sibu branch.

Dr Soon said he could only work with SUPP Sibu branch if “first, SUPP recognises that Dudong branch has been formed following the 2008 Delegates Conference’s decision, and that the Dudong branch committee members elected at the first branch general meeting on April 30 are valid”.

Second, he said, the four units under Dudong constituency namely, Naman sub-branch, Lanang Road Service Centre, Stabau Service Centre and Sibu Jaya Service Centre, must maintain all their existing office bearers.

Dr Soon yesterday insisted that in the April 30 meeting of the Dudong branch, they had already elected 28 committee members, with him as chairman.

“This leaves another 17 vacancies to be filled,” he said, and proposed that the remaining 17 positions be filled by Sibu branch.

Dr Soon said if these two conditions were agreed to by the party “we can cooperate”.

“And I hope also that Sibu branch will form the other five branches within the next three months as indicated by Wong to the press,” he added.

On whether or not his decision not to return to Sibu branch would worsen the Dudong branch formation controversy, Dr Soon said there was no need for the so-called return because he would be as good, or even better as chairman of Dudong branch.

In the press conference yesterday, Dr Soon showed to reporters his reply to Dr Chan. He also gave out a press statement on his response to the invitation of SUPP Sibu branch.

Both his letters were written with the Dudong branch letter head.

Meanwhile, at the height of the Dudong branch controversy, Dr Ting Check Ming of PKR invited Dr Soon to join his party earlier this week.

When asked by reporters on his response to PKR’s invitation, Dr Soon said: “I am a state assembly-man of the Barisan Nasional, and I am an assistant minister of the state BN government. I shall not consider the invitation.”

He said he had not been contacted by anyone from PKR on the invitation.

“I only read it in the newspapers,” he added.

Before the press conference, Dr Soon was in his ‘Dudong branch’ office where he gave out Minor Rural Project funds to local organisations.

Meanwhile, Wong, when contacted for his comments on Dr Soon’s statement, said SUPP Sibu branch had acted on the instruction of party president to invite Dr Soon to return to the branch.

“Since he has refused the invitation, I shall leave this matter to the party president,” Wong said, adding, however, that the branch would proceed with the formation of the six branches as instructed.

“To us, Dudong branch and the other five branches have not been formed yet,” Wong reiterated.