DAP rebels given a last chance

Two DAP renegades contesting as independents in the Teratai state seat in Selangor and Kota Laksamana in Melaka appears to be given a new 24-hour lifeline.

Latest reports quoted DAP chairman Karpal Singh as saying that Jenice Lee (Teratai incumbent) and Sim Tong Him (Kota Melaka incumbent MP) will have another day to withdraw from contesting the election or face the sack.

This new development seems to change the situation for Lee and Sim as it was previously widely reported that both have already been sacked.

Specifically, DAP disciplinary committee (DC) chairman Tan Kok Wai was quoted as saying that the party had no choice but to sack Lee.

When asked to comment by Astro Awani, Lee seemed to have already resigned to the fact that she has been expelled.

”Didn’t Tan Kok Wai already say that I have been sacked? How can a person who has already been sack have to be sacked again?”

Yesterday when she sent in nomination papers to be an incumbent, Lee had questioned the decision to sack her by the DC.

She said that since the DC was appointed by the central executive committee (CEC), the sacking was questionable as the Registrar of Society recently said that it did not recognise the CEC as valid.

In GE13, Lee is facing four other candidates in a unprecedented five-way fight in Teratai.

The BN candidate is Gerakan’s Ben Liew Pok Boon, while the other independents are Pandan Perdana Residents Association chairman Lim Ah Chai and Coalition of KL and Selangor NGOs deputy president Chin Kok Keong.

Lee’s DAP replacement candidate is former Petaling Jaya City councilor and laywer Tiew Way Keng.

When arguing her validity as the better DAP candidate, Lee had said that as the DAP Selangor public secretary, she had obtained the highest votes during the party’s state elections. She also claimed that her constituents, community and party members fully supported her, even saying that a poll found she was the most winnable candidate.

But in a press briefing held in the election operations centre of current DAP candidate Tiew this morning, party veteran Teresa Kok said that Lee’s supposed poll may not reflect the real situation on the ground.

“You’re the incumbent, you were in power, of course people like you. But you don’t get along with our councilors, branch leaders, that tells you something,” said Kok, who flanked by party members and leaders, as well as several local councilors who support Tiew.

Kok stressed that the party had reasons for not fielding Lee and allowed several councilors to narrate their bad experiences with Lee.

The most serious brought up again was the allegation was that Lee’s aide Lee Hsuan Ba had previously embezzled money.

This allegation, which had gone to the party’s disciplinary committee last month, was that Lee had approved Hsuan Ba's collection of RM32,000 worth of funds from three residents to construct a wall.

While Kok tried not wish to dwell on the allegation today, she also denied that DAP was sweeping the issue under the carpet by not referring this alleged abuse of power case to the authorities.

“We need a candidate with more quality. We now see that Jenice was not as pure and clean as she claimed,” said Kok.

Meanwhile, Sim, whose case was slightly different as he was still contesting in in the Kota Melaka seat under the DAP ticket, said that he was forced to ‘sacrifice himself’.

Sim said that due to the party's bad choice candidate for the Kota Laksamana state seat, namely Lai Keun Ban, he had to enter the ring as an independent.

Lai is facing PPP's Datuk Chiw Tian Chai in Kota Laksamana. He is facing MCA's Dr Yee Kok Wah in Kota Melaka.

Sim told Astro Awani that despite the storm surrounding it, it was business as usual for him.

“We’re still working from morning until now, we are campaigning together with all our other candidates,” said Sim, who , and said that he just launched that Taman Melaka Raya operations room.

Sim, similar to Lee, has not received official notice of his expulsion.

However, he was ready to face the music, after making this”‘painful decision” to contest as he did not wish to see the votes swing to BN.

“My decision to do this is to avoid DAP supporters going to BN, to provide a alternative, a second choice. That is why I have to sacrifice. If I don’t do it, I don’t think it is fair for the voters. “

“I think the disciplinary committee will do what they think is right. I will respect their decision. I am ready to be expelled. I expected this to happen. The decision made, you have to consider the consequences you are going to face.

Sim said that his wish, as it is with Lee’s, is to apply to return to DAP if possible.

“But if DAP doesn’t accept me, then I will be a Pakatan or DAP friendly independent. I do not have a slightest doubt of leaving Pakatan rakyat. After being in the political arena for 30 to 40 years, my position is still the same... my heart and soul is with DAP.”