KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Penang DAP state assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu is free to leave the party as there are always new leaders who can be groomed to take over his place in the near future, the party’s state leadership said today.
Penang DAP vice-chairman Zairil Khir Johari said that Teh should have expressed his concerns in other ways than announcing his decision to leave the party publicly, but added that his exit does not change things for the party.
“I always think it’s unnecessary to wash laundry in public, there are better ways to communicate things like this. But again it is his choice.
“It is his choice of course to do what he wants, and I’m sure his past service to the party is appreciated. On a personal level I have no problems with him and it is a shame that he has chosen to leave in such a manner,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted.
“The nature of politics is that leaders come and leaders go, and I wish him all the best if that is his intention,” Zairil added.
He said that DAP had a grassroots structure which included village committees, city councillors and the state government, and that a replacement candidate for the state seat will eventually be decided upon.
Teh had reportedly said he wants to leave DAP, citing disappointment with the state government over its rampant hillside development.
“I am not in line with the party leadership. There have been no reforms. It’s time for me to go,” he reportedly told The Star.
He added that his party leaders are also aware of his decision, and reportedly said that he has no intention of joining any other Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties.
The report however did not detail the justification behind Teh’s move, but Teh has been a vocal critic of the DAP-governed Penang state government’s hill clearing activities and hillside development works.
A landslide occurred at a construction site of a 50-storey affordable housing project in Tanjung Bungah two weeks ago, killing 11 workers.
The state government has insisted that the project in Tanjung Bungah was on land below 76m and that it was not on a hill slope.
