GEORGE TOWN: There were raised eyebrows when a DAP assemblyman with a track record of lambasting his own state government turned up at a Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) press conference.
Tanjung Bungah representative Teh Yee Cheu sat at one of the coffee shop tables and watched on smilingly.
Last October, Teh declared that he would leave DAP after Parliament is dissolved because he “could not follow the party any longer”.
But he was coy about his plans at the PRM meeting at a Leith Street coffee shop here.
He said he was there to support his two friends who recently joined PRM.
“I favour socialist parties. Another one is Parti Sosialis Malaysia,” he said.
But Teh hinted that he would not contest in Tanjung Bungah in the coming general election after leaving DAP.
“I don’t want DAP to say I used its resources to grab votes. I give it back so I don’t owe you, and you don’t owe me,” he said, referring to the Tanjung Bungah state constituency.
The two-term assemblyman is popular with locals because of his dedication as a bicycle commuter and champion of environmental causes.
But he went head-on with state leaders on many matters, to the point of calling on Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to take leave after the latter was charged with corruption in 2016 and frequently urging for the chief minister’s tenure to be cut to two terms.
Teh even voted for a Barisan Nasional motion in the state assembly, against the ruling coalition.
At the press conference, Penang PRM president Tang Hiang Lye said the party aimed to contest in 30 out of 40 state seats in Penang.
He said five candidates have been identified for the island and it is looking for fresh faces to contest underthe party banner.
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