GE13 PROFILE: ONLY BN would drop 500lb bombs on its own country - Tan Kee Kwong

It is never easy to break away from the shadow of a famous father, what more when dad just happens to be Mr Opposition - Malaysia's Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon. But Kee Kwong has managed to do it and while he may not be as famous and as widely known - especially among the older generation - as his father yet, he has climbed higher in the corridors of power.

Invited to join Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia in the changing room of one of the most exclusive golf clubs in Selangor , Kee Kwong contested the Segambut parliamentary seat on behalf of the ruling Umno-BN coalition in 1995. He won, held the seat for 3 terms and was also made a Deputy Minister.

To outsiders, it may have seemed odd and out of character given his father's long-held caution against the BN, but to Kee Kwong, Gerakan was the party his dad had co-founded and the only way for change to come to Malaysia was to work at it from within the system. Or so that seemed during tumultuous 1990s.

That was the era when the iron-fisted hand of former premier Mahathir Mohamad held near total sway and few could envision a future that was not Mahathir-planned or Mahathir-endorsed. Those who disagreed with Mahathir, such as his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, soon found themselves sacked and even thrown into jail.

His father's son

Even so, for Kee Kwong, after 3 terms as a BN lawmaker and watching the situation in the country "deteriorate beyond belief", he did what his father would have done. Leave the government and return to the Opposition, where even if the fight was uneven and an uphill struggle, at least he could help to amplify and bring to the attention of the people the wrongdoings of the BN ruling elite. Or so Kee Kwong claims.

Yes, Chee Khoon had guts enough to give up Gerakan when the party, then led by Lim Chong Eu, decided to join the Alliance - the BN's predecessor - when the suspension on Parliament was lifted in 1972. Malaysia had been ruled by the Mageran or National Operations Council following the May 13, 1969, racial riots which many have accused former premier Abdul Razak Hussein, the father of current premier Najib Razak, of having instigated.

Concerned and unhappy because of the Alliance's race-based policies, Chee Khoon left and formed another party, Pekemas, to maintain a check and balance on the Razak-led government. He remained the Leader of the Opposition, a post he held from 1964 to 1978. Hence, the tag Mr Opposition.

Chee Khoon's influence on Kee Kwong, one of 6 siblings, is obvious. Now in his mid-sixties, Kee Kwong still chokes up when he talks about his dad and how "the old man" hated corruption, racial prejudice and religious bigotry.

At a recent political briefing, Kee Kwong - now a senior leader with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's PKR party - could not help reminiscing.

"In the 50's and 60's, Malaysia did not face any of these problems. There was no need to appoint (image consultancy firm) APCO or pay RM70 million in consultancy fees because we were already 1 Malaysia," he told the crowd of nearly 1,000 who had packed the tents put up outside his service centre in Wangsa Maju.

"I called Ambiga sister just now. Her father was Datuk G Sreenevasan and my father was Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon but even though one was Indian and the other was Chinese, they were brothers. Malaysia had no problems at that time but now, everyday, there is racism, religious bigotry. Who is behind this?"

Kee Kwong, a medical doctor by training, was referring to Ambiga Sreenevasan, the popular and well-respected co-chair of the BERSIH movement for free and fair polls, who was a guest speaker at the briefing.

Already technically bankrupt: BN is shaking with fright

Kee Kwong also took pot shots at Najib's BN coalition which has drawn huge flak and accusations of cowardice for failing to dissolve Parliament even though the five-year mandate it won during the March 8, 2008 general elections has already expired.

"Now we have a coalition BN-UMNO which is very afraid of the people. A BN minister says they can up sup-sup-suey (easily) win 160 out of 222 seats. Hey brother Ahmad Maslan (the BN minister), if that is true, BN would have dissolved Parliament one year ago! But it looks like Najib and Rosmah (the PM's wife) and worst of all Mahathir Mohamad cannot sleep at night. Am I right?"

Kee Kwong, who has been named the PKR candidate to contest Wangsa Maju, also took Najib to task for splurging on arms and defense deals at the LIMA 2013 exhibition, expressing concern about the "damage" to Malaysia's already stretched finances.

"What type of a government is this? Already, there are 6 countries in the world that have been recently hit by debt. Cyprus, Italy, Bulgaria ... these countries burnt themselves because they could not control their debt. Because BN keeps borrowing, we now owe RM520bil. Najib says this is the best economic transformation. But 53% of GDP (gross domestic product), is that really good?

"If we include the loans of TNB (national power uility), MAS (national airline) and other government-linked companies, the total would be RM700 bil. According to the World Bank, if the figure hits 55% of GDP, a country is technically bankrupt. We are 53% .. not far away from bankruptcy, just another 2 percentage points and we will be bankrupt. If we add the loans of Proton (national carmaker), TNB, we would already be at 70%. This means we are already technically bankrupt. And this is why we must kick them (the BN government) out," Kee Kwong said to thunderous applause.

200 militants and you drop 500lb bombs on your own country? How stupid!

He went on to discuss the Lahad Datu crisis, where some 200 armed militants from the Philippines had intruded on Sabah shores, refusing to leave peacefully and staking claim to the land instead. To eject them, Najib belatedly called in the army and has been blamed for mishandling the crisis which has resulted in the loss of 10 Malaysian lives, while more than 60 militants have been killed.

"In 1999, Dr Mahathir appointed me as Deputy Minister and among my duties was to look after Felda. Felda Sahabat (the settlement in which the intruders had camped) was just jungle then. Now, 240,000 acres or one-and-a-half times the size of Singapore, it is a township with about 30,000 people. But the border with the Philippines is just 10 minutes away. Whether legal or not, they have been coming in and out for the past 30 years at least. Why has this problem been allowed to flare up and so near to the election?

"Why did these so-called intruders, out of 200 about 30 had heavy equipment - grenade launchers, M60 heavy machine guns. Why didn't we involve our soldiers from the start? Are these real intruders or not? If someone doesn't drink water for 5 days, he will die. If Najib appointed me as the police chief, I would ask the marine police to block the seas. I would call my VAT69 SWAT team to make another circle. Then I would form another line of armored cars, put in my bazookas and heavy artillery. I would then use my helicopters to drop down leaflets - please surrender, we don't want to kill anyone, we give you 3 days to lay down your arms. Then turn off the electric power and water and don't allow anyone to walk in and out. But what did we do? We just used our own planes to drop 500lb bombs on our own land ... did I hear someone say 'stupid!'. That's right. We bomb other people's country, not our own country!"

War torn due to mishandling

Indeed, the loss and enormity of Najib's botched handling of the crisis is becoming clearer each day. Although, his government has promised to pay RM1,000 per family to the affected villages, it is hardly enough to compensate for the loss of land and heritage.

As national news agency Bernama reported on Friday, "sorrow and emptiness filled the air when the heads of families from Kampung Tanjung Batu returned to what was left of their village after the area was attacked by militants earlier this month. The villagers quietly wept while evaluating their losses, most did not expect to see their homes in such dilapidated condition."

"They were greeted by the stench of dead animals believed to have died during Ops Daulat, the sight of their homes, destroyed, riddled with thousands of bullet holes on the walls, some houses did not even have a wall, others were burnt to the ground, and most were left in ruins. The streets where their children used to play on were littered with thousands of bullet shells, it was a sight no one had imagined at the 40-year-old village."

PR win easily if the polls are free and fair

Kee Kwong rounded up his speech by warning against electoral fraud, which according to him was the only way left for Najib and BN to win GE13.

He pointed to the example of a vegetable seller in the Sibu market and how PKR compatriot Nurul Izzah was already down by 11,000 votes even before a single ballot had been cast.

"This lady in Sibu told me, I am very angry Dr Tan. I asked her why, you don't know me. And she said, in her house there are 8 voters. And they have voted 4 times. When they went to check, suddenly their names have disappeared from the electoral roll. Why did this happen? Because the polling channels show that in her area, 80% of voters support DAP and not BN. So they just cuci (wiped off) the names, lah.

"As for Nurul Izzah, they came up with an even brighter idea. In 2008 (election), when the seat was still held by Shahrizat Jalil, there were only 180 postal voters. Now, (that the seat has fallen to Nurul Izzah), the postal voters have ballooned to 3,000. Not only that, in Seputeh (the constituency held DAP's Teresa Kok), the majority - the highest in the country - is 34,000 votes. BN knows it has no chance there. So they transferred 8,000 Malay voters who are staunch Umno supporters into Nurul's seat. This means Nurul is already down by 11,000 votes. But Nurul Izzah will still win because the people want and demand change. If, and this is a big 'if,' elections are free and fair, PR will win easily."

Wangsa Maju still with the PR

The rousing cheers that greeted Kee Kwong's optimism, as well as the rapport that oozed from the constituents who came out to listen to him and his guests, are indeed ominous for Najib and his BN government.

It not only underscores how popular the Pakatan Rakyat opposition has become since winning 5 of the nation's 13 states in 2008, but is also a warning to Kee Kwong's competitors for the Wangsa Maju seat.

It is clear he has worked the ground and the efforts have borne some fruit. After 4 years, the constituents seem to be very comfortable with him. Even the sound of a siren towards the end of his speech did not shake their attention or make them feel nervous and wishful of leaving. Surprisingly relaxed, they thought nothing of coming up to ask for his take on some of the latest national and local issues. And frankly, just a few years back, few would have dared to even vocalize some of the questions they asked that night.

The Wangsa seat was won by PKR colleague-turned-renegade Wee Choo Keong in the previous election. Now, it doesn't matter whether Wee, who quit PKR controversially in 2009 and is now aligned to the BN, or any other Umno-BN candidate is picked to face Kee Kwong.

Based on the crowd's response and camaraderie that night, Kee Kwong's rivals should know they will have to work triply hard to be able take any shine off him.

Malaysia Chronicle