No room for dissent in DAP

Wangsa Maju member of parliament (MP) Wee Choo Keong said the leadership style in the DAP had not changed since he left the party in 1998. 

 

“If I’m not mistaken, more than 150 leaders have either been sacked, forced out or resigned due to their ability to be opinionative against the party leadership,” he said.

 

Wee was commenting on recent reports where several groups who wanted to join DAP were prevented from forming new branches by the party leadership.

 

Wee said one was only encouraged to form branches that was in “alignment with the Lim dynasty”, in reference to DAP supermo Lim Kit Siang and his son secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

 

On Monday, it was reported that former DAP branch chairman of Taman Seri Sungai Pelek in Sepang had applied to establish six new branches but the party had never responded.

 

Last month, delegates at a Perak DAP convention had also accused party leaders of preventing members from forming new branches.

 

Wee said that it was highly unlikely that the relatively large number of former DAP leaders who were forced to leave the party over the years have all been ‘bad apples’.

 

Some of these former DAP leaders included the then, Seputeh MP and national vice-chairman Liew Ah Kim, Sandakan MP and national treasurer Fung Ket Wing, DAP Penang chief Teoh Teik Huat, Johor state chairman K. S Song and Bukit Bintang MP Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye. 

 

“If you are threat to the Lim dynasty, you cannot even talk at a forum within the party, let alone speak your mind outside,” he said.

 

Recalling his removal from the party, Wee said he was given the boot due to the nature of his responses to certain questions posed at a forum.

 

“Those answers were not favourable to the Lim dynasty,” he said.

 

Wee explained that during the DAP’s disciplinary committee meeting on his case, he had not been allowed to call witnesses on his own behalf.

 

“DAP is shouting for freedom, and what is happening contradicts the very concept of national justice, where one has the right to be heard,” he said.

 

Wee said one had to bow down to the “supremos” in order to form new branches.

 

As a DAP leader, Wee, who was considered as a “rising star” at that time was elected as a member of parliament for Bukit Bintang from 1990 to 1995.  

 

He was sacked from the party in 1998 and moved on to Parti Keadilan Rakyat 10 years later after being persuaded to join the party by de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

 

He remained in PKR for two years, where after much speculation, he finally quit.

 

It was reported that Wee said he was leaving the party because he was disappointed with the Pakatan Rakyat state-led government’s handling of alleged corruption in Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd.

 

He resigned from all party posts which included his deputy chairman post in Federal Territory PKR and supreme council membership.