KUCHING, Sept 3 — Newly sworn-in mayor of Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Datuk Wee Hong Seng today stressed that people should not question his political affiliation as it is not important.

He said for him, serving the people to the best of his ability is more important than being a member of any party.

“For me, people should be more interested in whether you are serving them, and not whether you belong to any party, which is not important,” he said when reporters pressed him for an answer if he was a member of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), a component of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

Wee, however, declined to reveal if he was a SUPP member, but said he would let SUPP president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian to make the announcement.

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Earlier, Wee took his oath of office as the mayor, witnessed by Dr Sim, who is also the Local Government and Housing Minister, at the MBKS building here.

His political membership came into questioned after SUPP Kuching branch chief Datuk Lily Yong had refuted Dr Sim’s claim that Wee was a party member.

Dr Sim had said the mayor posts of MBKS and Sibu Municipal Council had been given back to SUPP.

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This was after Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg had announced the new mayors of MBKS and Sibu Municipal Council (SMC).

The past two mayors of MBKS were not SUPP members while the mayor of SMC Datuk Tiong Thai King, used to be SUPP member, until he switched to Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) in 2014.

The new mayor of SMC is Clarence Ting, a SUPP member.

When asked by reporters, Dr Sim confirmed that Wee is a member of SUPP Pending branch.

He said Yong may not know about it because she spends most of her time overseas.

“You don’t have to be worried about when he joined Pending branch. He is a SUPP member,” he said.