Tey elected as new Malacca DAP chief

MALACCA: Malacca DAP strongman Goh Leong San has been ousted as state party chief by a newly-elected committee.

He has been replaced by former state DAP liaison secretary Tey Kok Kiew, who got nine votes from the 15-member committee.

A visibly upset Goh, who held the post unopposed for a decade, said: “The party did remarkably well with me at the helm, including wresting additional state seats in the last general election. I wish my successor good luck.”

It is no secret that the Malacca DAP is divided into two factions. Goh and Tey were initially in the same camp.

They split in June last year and Tey quit as secretary to join forces with the opposing faction.

The current state liaison secretary Khoo Poay Tiong and Kota Laksamana assemblyman Lai Kuen Ban are aligned to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Loggerheads between the two teams could be traced back to 2005, when both Lim and his wife Betty Chew were booted out in the state party committee election.

Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him, who is aligned to Goh, said he was disappointed with the choice of Tey as state party chief.

“I am worried for the future of Malacca DAP under the new team. There was definitely interference from the headquarters in the election process and they wanted us out,” he said.

Tey said the services of Goh and Sim were still needed by the party.

“The infighting should stop and all of us should unite to counter the Barisan Nasional,” he added.

Tey said his new committee comprised a multiracial team who would strive to reach the grassroots.

The party election saw 276 out of the 280 state delegates taking part.