Ex-DAP man’s criticism has Kok fuming
DAP’s Teresa Kok lashes out at sacked party man Tan Tuan Tat, who accused the former of being a weak and incompetent politician.
Athi Shankar, FMT
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok has taken an ex-DAP man to task for labelling her as a weak leader. She said Tan Tuan Tat hardly knew anything about what she had done and performed since he was not in the Selangor DAP committee and Pakatan Rakyat state government.
Apart from weak, Tan claimed that Kok was an “incompetent politician lacking the capability to head Selangor DAP.”
Kok said ever since she helmed Selangor DAP, she had forged close working ties with all state committee members and elected representatives.
The state executive councillor said they would all be updated on meetings and issues pertaining to the state government, Pakatan and DAP.
“Tan has never been informed of these meetings and decisions because he is not a wakil rakyat, a councillor or a DAP state committee member.
“So on what grounds did he make such an accusation against me?” asked the Kinrara state representative, in a text message.
To prove his point, Tan, the former DAP Taman Seri Sungai Pelek branch chairman, said that Kok did not receive a strong grassroots’ mandate during the 2010 state party convention.
He recalled that Kok, despite being an exco in the Selangor government, could only secure 437 of the 803 delegates’ votes to finish at 11th in a list of 15 elected members.
In the subsequent state committee meeting, Kok managed to defeat state legislative assembly speaker Teng Chang Kim by 8-7 vote margin to become the Selangor DAP chairman.
Tan said she managed to head Selangor DAP despite weak support from the members because “she was a loyalist to the Lim Dynasty and blue-eyed girl of Lim Kit Siang.”
Lim Dynasty was a political odium coined by DAP grassroots members and critics to portray the powerful internal faction headed by Ipoh Timur MP Kit Siang and his son, Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary general Guan Eng.
‘Playing second fiddle’
Despite her elevation to state party chief, Tan said he sympathised with Kok for having to always play second fiddle to DAP’s Pandamaran assemblyman Ronnie Liu.
Tan recalled that Liu, a state executive councillor, once mocked the party protocol to amend the state leadership-approved list of councillor appointees.
He said Liu replaced certain state-endorsed nominees with his own people and got them approved by Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, all without Kok’s knowledge.
When she knew about it, Tan claimed that Kok shouted at Liu right in front of Khalid.
“But Liu went unscathed because he was the Lim Dynasty’s main admiral. No disciplinary action was taken against him and Kok was powerless to do anything.
“She only ended up embarrassing herself,” he said.
To this, Kok questioned whether Tan knew what she had done after Liu amended the councillor list. But she did not deliberate further.
Tan also accused Kok of negligence in resolving the grouses and issues raised by party members.
Since Kok helmed the state party leadership, Tan said factionalism had also crept into Selangor DAP, breaking into three main divisions headed by herself, Liu and Teng.
“The main factions have also split into sub-factions. She is the main cause for many disgruntled grassroots leaders and members to leave the party,” he claimed.
