Negri MCA chief defends remarks on Teo's mother

Embattled Negri Sembilan MCA chief Dr Yeow Chai Thiam today strenuously defended his remarks which sparked a verbal battle between his party and arch-rival DAP.

The spat erupted when Chinese dailies reported over the weekend that Yeow, who is also a senator and medical doctor, had issued a statement complaining that Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching had failed toshow him gratitude for helping her sick mother in 2009.

According to Yeow, (left) the DAP MP had only thanked him a few months after the treatment, when he inquired about her mother's health during a chance meeting between the two at a function.

Yeow, who runs a non-profit dialysis centre in Mawar, came under intense fire for his remarks from Teo and other DAP heavyweights.

MCA leaders returned fire, claiming that many DAP leaders have been beneficiaries of their help, including studying at the party funded, Tunku Abdul Rahman College.

"We can see from the past few days, DAP has played up this issue with the purpose of discrediting the MCA, but in the end, the person who gets hurt is Mrs Teo," said Yeow, referring to Teo's mother.

In a statement released today, Yeow told Teo not to feel "embarrassed or useless just because MCA has helped you".

"Teo should have put in more effort, being an MP and the wife of a medical specialist, to settle the problem (involving her mother) easily without coming to see me," he said.

"Whether Teo thanked me or not is irrelevant and does not matter to me."

Charity should not be politicised

Yeow went on to accuse Teo (right) of "stirring up" the issue for political gain.

"Only in the last two weeks, when the Serdang MP was in Bahau (Negri Sembilan) giving a talk in front of 1,500 people, she openly announced her thanks to me, to make people feel that I am petty and wanting something in return."

"I can give her a list of DAP leaders who have approached me with a list of patients needing my assistance. But I have never revealed the patients' names or illness because morally, it is not ethical.

"In other words, I have been helping many DAP leaders and their supporters in my dialysis centre and Mawar Renal Specialist Hospital and have never politicised this matter."

Yeow insisted that he first raised the issue to encourage MCA members to give quality and good service to all Malaysians, irrespective who they are.