Hannah Yeoh ticks off Ronnie Liu over ‘non-Chinese DAP’ remark

(FMT) – Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh has hit out at party colleague Ronnie Liu over his remarks that DAP should not “dilute its Chinese-ness” and cannot depict itself as a “non-Chinese party”.

In a Facebook posting today, Yeoh said she strongly disagreed with what he had said. “Ronnie does not represent me. Ronnie does not speak for me. The DAP that Ronnie Liu wants is not the DAP which I joined,” she said.

Quoting from a Malaysiakini article, she questioned what Liu had meant when he said “DAP is for all Malaysians. We need to cooperate with Malay parties but DAP cannot afford to degrade or depict itself as a non-Chinese party.”

He was also reported to have said that DAP did not need to “dilute its Chinese-ness” because of criticisms from political enemies, a remark which Yeoh described as narrow-minded and reflecting a toxic mentality.

She said that Liu, who is a central executive committee member, “has done a great disservice to many of us DAP leaders out there who are working hard to fight off prejudices and stigmas against the DAP”.

“My experience with DAP might be shorter compared to Ronnie’s involvement, but I want to state that my experiences and struggles in DAP have not been the same as what he said. That’s enough, Ronnie. Ronnie does not represent me. Ronnie does not speak for me,” she said.

She also recounted how Liu had a “constant countdown” on his Facebook page for Dr Mahathir Mohamad to step down as prime minister and hand over the reins to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

She said his taunting did not help when Pakatan Harapan ministers and deputy ministers were working hard in their respective portfolios.

“Everyone including Tun Mahathir, Anwar, Ronnie and myself included must shoulder some blame in the collapse of the PH government. Responsible leadership requires us to examine ourselves. For Ronnie, Tun Mahathir can do no right. For Ronnie, Anwar can do no wrong,” she said.