End of the road for LDP’s Liew?

What we are watching now in Sabah LDP, which incidentally is the oldest BN partner, is an ugly all-or-nothing, party-be-damned, fight that is multi-sided and lined up against the president.

KOTA KINABALU: The case for Liew Vui Keong, the leader of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is strong if he wants to go back into legal practice, his old job before he rose in the party and was made a federal deputy minister.

After all he’s more widely known now, has contacts in high places and knows the inner workings of the government like the back of his hand after being a senior member of the Prime Minister’s Department for so long.

It’s probably what he should have been looking at after he was ignominiously defeated by a virtual unknown in the May general elections.

Instead what we are watching now is an ugly all-or-nothing, party-be-damned, fight that is multi-sided and lined up against the president.

Tuesday’s press conference by Liew to announce the sacking of party secretary-general Teo Chee Kang from the post was revealing in itself.

“There was no one else of importance from the party at the PC,” said a member of the media who was there.

Things started to fall apart for the former Deputy Minister after he was defeated in the May general election for the Sandakan parliamentary seat where he was the incumbent.

The warning signs that he would not fade away without a fight were always there starting with his failure to take responsibility for his defeat.

The standard offer to step aside as head of the party after DAP’s Wong Tien Fatt trounced him was not forthcoming.

“That was a major mistake. He should have made the offer. He could have relied on the sympathy factor if he had played his cards right,” said a political observer.

His prominence as a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and incumbent Sandakan parliamentarian made the defeat impossible to brush away.

Chong left with dignity

Now with indications that a majority of the party divisions are not fully with him, Liew is trying to hang on to his shaky hold on political power by using party rules and regulations to ward off any challenge.

It’s a sad way to go especially after his predecessor, former chief minister Chong Kah Kiat, set the standard by stepping aside with dignity as leader of the oldest party of the state Barisan Nasional coalition.

Division leaders of the party are said to have met last night to force an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) to pass a motion of no confidence against Liew after his move to sack Teo over his bid to contest for the party presidency.

“Enough divisional heads are with us,” a high ranking leader reportedly told The Borneo Insider on Tuesday soon after Liew announced Teo’s sacking.

The group supporting Teo said they anticipated the sacking and are unperturbed as they believe it is only a matter of time before Liew himself is replaced.

They are counting on the party constitution to resolve the current impasse.

Teo, the Tanjung Kapor assemblyman who is Sabah Special Affairs Minister, has declined to comment.

While former LDP president Chong has adopted a hands-off policy since retiring, it is speculated that he would not be ill-disposed to seeing Teo take over from Liew.

Liew started his ‘re-election’ campaign by accusing Teo of breaching the party’s constitution by announcing his intention to contest the president’s post at the LDP congress in October.

Liew said as secretary-general, Teo was duty bound to carry out the instructions of the LDP supreme council that met on June 9 and decided for a ‘no-contest of the president and deputy president’s posts’ in the upcoming party polls.

Since Teo, he explained, had publicly declared his intention to contest the top post it was no longer tenable for him to remain secretary-general as he is no longer able carry on the business of the party in accordance with our constitution.

Liew out-manoeuvred

Liew then announced that Karambunai division chief Loretto Sipin Padua, was the new secretary-general.

Liew’s predicaments began when LDP vice-president Pang Nyuk Min, who is also the Merotai assemblyman, made the opening gambit and announced his intention to contest for a higher post in the party.

The next move came when the party’s Tambunan, Liawan and Melalap divisions nominated Teo to go for the top post.

Soon the Gum-Gum, Luyang, Inanam, Tanjung Aru, Petagas, Tambunan, Liawan, Melalap, Likas, Klias, Tanjung Kapor, Senallang and Lahad Datu divisions follow suit.

That’s a good number of the 800 delegates in the bag already for Teo.

The women and youth wings of several divisions have also thrown their weight behind Teo for the top post.

Liew was out-manoeuvred. Neutrals say his position as party chief became untenable after the May elections and it is surprising he did not see this and formulate an exit strategy.

“He can no longer offer anything to the members as he has no more power,” a senior party member reportedly said adding that this was the opposite in Teo’s case as he is a minister.

Of course its all about being first in the queue in the race for government projects and hand-outs and who best can help gain these.

But that’s politics.