Dr Jerip, who was UPP’s deputy president before resigning to contest for the Mambong seat, said he, along with Johnical and Opar assemblyman Ranum Mina, were no longer affiliated with UPP.

He made this clarification after the UPP Central Committee rejected the resignation letters submitted by the three members who stood as Barisan Nasional (BN) direct candidates in the state election last month. After quitting, the trio applied for membership in Sarawak’s anchor party PBB.

“As far as we are concerned, we became party-less the moment we resigned from the party (UPP),” Jerip told reporters at the state assembly here today.

Jerip also agreed with the instructions of state Chief Minister Adenan Satem that feedback be sought from the grassroots before accepting the trio into PBB.

“We want to make sure every layer of society is involved in this decision (to join PBB). This includes all the races – Malays, Chinese, youths, community leaders, as well as NGOs. This is the kind of referendum we are looking for,” he said.

Johnical, who is the assemblyman for Engkili, said while UPP leaders were entitled to their own opinions, he remained steadfast in having left the party.

He said the three had “officially” resigned as their letters had been sent to the chief minister himself.

On Tuesday, Adenan said he considered UPP, of which Wong Soon Koh (Bawang Assan) is now president, to be a BN-friendly party.