Tee Boon Hock says Ronnie Liu has failed his constituents.
Athi Shankar, FMT
KLANG: Sacked DAP grassroots leader Tee Boon Hock plans to contest in Pandamaran as an independent candidate if the party fields incumbent Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew for that state constituency.
He referred to the Selangor executive councillor as an “opportunist” and “tainted candidate” who had failed to deliver anything worthwhile to his constituents since he was elected in 2008.
If the DAP were to nominate such a person as its candidate for Pandamaran, he told FMT, “it will ignite my morale and determination” to contest for the seat.
He alleged that Liu had been unable to uphold DAP’s socialist ideals.
Tee, who joined DAP in 1984, was sacked in July 2010 for allegedly misusing Liu’s official letterhead to secure contracts for his cronies, an accusation he rejects. He also lost his seat in the Klang Municipal Council.
He sought election in Pandamaran in 1999 and 2004 and lost on both occasions. He made way for Liu in the 2008 election. They were then close friends.
“Since I was the one who proposed him for Pandamaran, I admit and take full responsibility for the mistake,” he said.
“I sincerely apologise to the people of Pandamaran for his shortcomings and failures.”
Tee said he hoped that the DAP leadership would, for the coming polls, field candidates with “credibility, high integrity, dignity and honesty” and who were team players able to work closely with grassroots leaders to serve the public.
He said elected representatives must be familiar with issues affecting their constituents and have the ability to solve problems at the grassroots.
“A representative should work with, by and for his voters.”
He said DAP leaders had deviated from the party’s principles and that its CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) governance had become an empty boast.
He accused them of having distanced themselves from the public and working only for their own materialistic gains.
He described the running of the Selangor government as a “comedy of errors” and said the Shah Alam administration was infested with abuse of power, graft, cronyism and nepotism.
“The CAT has become a sham and a gimmick and DAP has lost its credibility,” he said.
