A stink is brewing in S'gor DAP, time for Kit Siang to show hand

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

A stink is brewing in Selangor DAP and the only way to deodorize it is for top party leaders like Lim Kit Siang to send down the line the strongest message possible that - no matter how choking - the truth must come out.

Trained by the Umno-BN, Malaysians have become so smart at sniffing out cover-ups, it is pointless for the DAP or any other political party in this country to think that they can do better. The best thing for the DAP to do is to diagnose, dissect and then heal internally.

But frankly, the tale of the two battling DAP councilors and one Speaker is likely to be tedious rather than exciting. People in the know say it involves mata-kucing sums, but which by DAP standards might be huge, although in the Umno scale would rank as mere third or fourth-placed decimals.

Even so, corruption is corruption, regardless of the amount. In the case of Tee Boon Hock, the Klang municipal councilor who was sacked from DAP on Saturday, contracts obtained through alleged misuse of letterheads belonging to state executive councilor Ronnie Liu is believed to exceed RM1 million.

Not exciting but not small at all. Yet, the most ‘thrilling’ part of the scandal that has now become known as the ‘letterheads case’ is of course the purported rivalry between Tee and Ronnie Liu. And the bad blood between Ronnie and Selangor state speaker Teng Chang Khim.

While Ronnie, who is the Pandamaran assemblyman, was Tee’s former boss in the state administration, at party level they are equal and some say Tee is more influential as he has been a DAP member for longer. In 2008, both men were elected into the Selangor DAP working committee.

The latest in the party grapevine is that prior to Tee’s downfall, he and Ronnie were both competing for positions at the party's state-level internal polls due to be held later this year. But that is now moot with Tee's expulsion.

Chang Khim was hauled up by disciplinary board chairman Tan Kok Wai for giving his two cents worth on the decision to sack Tee. Chang Khim had tweeted to his followers “OMG! Real culprit freed”. Many people within the Pakatan Rakyat family have taken him to mean Ronnie!

Unsurprisingly therefore, to clear the air, Kok Wai reined in Chang Khim for contempt of the disciplinary committee. But the Selangor Speaker has taken offence on the grounds that his by-now-famous OMG tweet was his personal message to his followers. He has even threatened to quit if he is called in to attend the inquiry as Speaker or head of Selcat, and insists he will only attend in his capacity as a DAP member.

Chang Khim’s nit-picking has not only irritated Kok Wai, the Cheras MP, it has actually shocked many Pakatan leaders. Ego is now another major problem that Kit Siang must deal with.

No doubt, the DAP prides itself on its exemplary pursuit of accountability, transparency and good governance. But perhaps some of its leaders have become ‘over-praised’ for their good performance, so much so their first instinct is to put their vanity and personal feelings first.

If Chang Khim does resign from DAP, Kit Siang must remind him to surrender his state seat as well. A by-election should be called and the people allowed to decide if it is a DAP representative they want or a man who is willing to forsake them for the sake of his pride.

As for Ronnie, his latest reaction in his latest scrape has been to lodge a police report that his letterheads and seal were misused by someone to issue business support letters to obtain contracts from the state government. He has asked the police to investigate.

But it must be noted that he attended a press conference last week and did not object when Tee denied misusing his letterheads and seal.

Both Ronnie and Chang Khim are due to face the disciplinary chaired by Kok Wai on August 12. MGHT -may God help them! Other than that, DAP is SAGP - still a great party!