Politics 101 Malaysia

When Lucia tagged me to do the 15th countdown entry for the Nizham Bashir-initiated 50 Posts To Independence series, I knew I have to pull out something special for this one.

I have to blog on “anything that makes Malaysia special” to me. Bugger. That got me stumped.

Then I thought, yes, an honest, hard-working and down-to-Earth politician makes Malaysia special to me.

This series is special and I wanted a special person to be a part of this. Someone like DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok Suh Sim (郭素沁) who, day in day out, helps make the country a little more special for you and I.

I decided to kacau Seputeh a little on an issue of national importance. I proposed and she accepted, the invitation to give me an exclusive interview for this series.

The interview questions were designed to invite her give us a peep into her private life and her political and personal challenges. She explains events which are not widely known, busts some myths and takes us along on a trip that reveals she’s as human as the next person.

Unfortunately she left out a gem of a story which happened when the DAP was still in the BA. Pas was holding the parliamentary opposition leadership post and it was hosting a gathering in one of the PAS’ functions rooms in the parliament building. As expected, males on one side and females on other. Then along came Seputeh, dressed to kill with stylish knee-length dress and a jacket. She went in, sat down, crossed her legs, looked up at the PAS MPs looking at her, smiled, raised her eye-brows and grinned as if to say: “So…what is this I’ve been hearing about Muslim women having to cover up more?” One mullah choked, one made a hasty exit and one never heard of Pas making those statements again for a long time.

Knowingly or otherwise, a simple gesture became a powerful statement. It was classic Teresa Kok.

The Sassy Interview

You are known as a grassroot MP. You are hands-on, go yam seng (饮胜) with your supporters, have a sassy blog and make noise at demos. You are “one of the boys”. Isn’t that cool?

First, I should say I used to be a person who organise things/events in the secretariat in the party. I have to be hands-on in many things because i) people want to see me to be with them, face them and talk to them when they face problems, ii) it is difficult to get good assistants, I have changed about five-six assistants in the past seven years of my life as MP. They left with different reasons, some really not capable and unrealiable, some wanted to pursue their studies. Three of them left me cos they wanted to do further studies, one of them is not interested in the job at all, one left because she wanted to go back to home town to take care of her mother. If I am not hands-on, I will face lots of difficulties if my assistants leave me. As for drinking with supporters, this is mainly because drinking is a part of socialising in the Chinese community, especially among men who care about politics, and leaders in Chinese associations. I am in a Chinese-dominated constituency and my supporters like drinking and they talk politics while drinking. They enjoy drinking while discussing politics with me. Because of this I am “one of the boys” . For your information, after I became MP for about half a year, I was told by a senior member in the party that some supporters in Salak South commented that I looked arrogant. I got a shock because I really didn’t know who he was referring to. After that, (Cheras MP) Tan Kok Wai took the trouble to introduce me to these grassroot supporters who used to drink at Salak South. We got introduced and after drinking and eating with them under the big tree, they began to know me better and our communication improved a ton. However, I will make sure that I will not get drunk, and I will make sure that I am sober enough to drive back home. Well, I have to participate in demo, you know, this is also part of the activities and cultures of opposition parties. How can I keep quiet when the people have to face toll price hike, petrol price hike etc, and when UMNO MPs come out with sexual harassment remarks? You may say this kind of life style is man-like. This is social stigma in our society. I should say this is part of the requirements to be a MP. Sometimes I forced myself to do it too, and I have become used to it now.

Tell us a bit about your family and upbringing.

I come from a middle class family. My father is a businessman and my mother was a primary school teacher. I am the eldest in the family. with two younger brothers and one sister. My parents never joined any political party, they don’t have any political inclination, but my father used to watch TV news and listen to news on radio and this has influenced me to be concern with daily news and political development.

Who’s your role model before you were elected? Who’s your role model now?

I have a few role models after I joined DAP in 1990. They include those who have left the party like Lee Ban Chen, Dr Kua Kia Soong and (ex-DAP MP) Sim Kwang Yang. Other party leaders and colleagues who have some influences in my life include (ex-Sec-Gen) Kerk Kim Hock, (DAP SG) Lim Guan Eng, Tan Kok Wai. However, no matter what people said, the person whom I have highest regard for is still Lim Kit Siang. I should qualify my statements when I put these people as my role models. We all have our good points and bad points, when I list them as my role models, it means that I have learnt many good things from them and I know their weaknesses too. When I say I admire them, it doesn’t mean that I will follow them blindly and be a yes-woman in all their decision makings. When it comes to critical point, I will make my own decision and choice according to the conscience and feelings of my heart. That’s the reason why I did not follow Dr Kua and Lee Ban Chen when they left the party in 1996 even though I was close to them. I was criticised by their supporters for being a Lim Kit Siang’s stooge, but I stood by what my conscience told me at that time, because I have my views on them and also Kit Siang. I chose to stay in the party because I believe I have a role to play in the party, and I deeply sympathised with the DAP after the great defeat in 1995 general elections. It is not an easy decision, because making a decision like this also means I split with all these great men whom I admired and have learnt much from.

In 2004 you presented Seputeh voters with a manifesto in the form of a report card of your service record since 1999. Voters loved what they saw and returned you with thumping victory, the biggest majority of all the DAP MPs. How’s your report card going to read this time?

My report card can be very short and very long. I still have not thought of what to put in it. I think I’ll definitely put in the episode of Squatgate and several other rather ‘big’ cases. I think in the coming elections, it is important for us to stress on national issues and the need for check and balance in the country, rather than giving emphasis on local constituency issues.

Describe your typical day.

I normally get up at about 7.30am. If I still feel very tired, then I may wake up a bit later. My day will normally end at about 12 midnight or 1.30am. If I go outstation, I might come back at about 2.30am to 3am. I don’t have a routine or fix programme in a day. Everyday is a different day for me. I will be very busy when there are issues affecting the people are happening or when there is Parliament sitting. As you have seen in the papers, when the ‘leaking’ issues happening in the Parliament, Po Kuan and other party leaders and me have been busy calling for press conference, giving protest memorandum to DPM and Minister, and organising forums. On top of that, I have to handle constituency issues and complaints too.

What’s your biggest challenge as an MP?

The life of a politician is always full of challenges. It is difficult to say what is greatest challenge for me. The challenges that we face include learning and understand new things in politics and life. For example, whenever I managed to learn something like to dig out materials to make a Parliament speech on an issue which is new to me, it is a process of learning for me, and it is also a challenge for me. I should say the period when I handled the Chinese girls and Squatgate issues was the most challenging task for me. I never expected the issue can be so explosive and getting international attention. Those girls never expected that too. So on one hand i have to pacify them and comfort them, on the other hand I have to face the media and the public. It was most taxing and tiring for me at that time.

You are a founder-member and advisor of the Malaysia Spring Single Mothers’ Society. How on Earth did a bachelorette like you get caught up in this?

It’s just like entering into politics, it is something which I have never planned in life and it just happened unexpectedly. When I entered into Dewan Rakyat, I always hear the term ibu tunggal (single mother) mentioned by some Malay male MPs. Then I discovered a few of my friends are divorcees and single mothers. Besides, I also have handled a few single mothers’ cases in my service centers. This prompted me to organise a forum at a hotel some time in March 2001 with the theme “having tea with single mothers”. It was a good gathering with about 70 participants. Those women had a great time chatting among themselves. At the end of the event a few single mothers approached me and asked me to network them. I then invited them to my service centre and they started to have monthly gathering in the presence of a cousellor. That’s how it started. It is not easy to set up a society like this too, especially when we did not have fund in the beginning. I have to foot the expenses for the group’s early activities. And then there was misunderstanding among some of them and I had to step in to mediate. It was extra work for me. Thank God the society can now run on its own and members can manage things by themselves. I have a rather good executive secretary to run the society, and the public is now more familiar with the society and some of them have been giving us donations and even help us to organise events to raise fund. The society has also managed to get funding from Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development for some training camps and seminars. The issues of single mothers can never be resolved completely. I never expected that a seed that I planted accidentally can turn into a tree and grow steadily now. I believe this is a surprise and blessings bestow by the Almighty God.

Before you were elected, you keep fit by doing a few laps at the PJ pool a couple of times a week, and relaxes with the occasional movie. Do you still have time for either?

I hardly swim nowadays due to my hectic schedule and I almost always get to go home around midnight. It is too cold and I am too tired to swim at this kind of odd hours. I started to cultivate a habit of walking or jogging in Bukit Jalil Park once or twice a week. I can really feel the difference after doing exercise as it makes me sleep better and get up earlier the next day. The effect is really good.

You must be a romantic at heart because you watched The Titanic a few times in a few weeks when it was first screened. Are you still into love stories big time?

I just have watched Titanic once, and I went to watch out of curiosity. The love story in that movie looks very unpractical and unreal for me. I do watch love story movies, but I don’t really fancy love story movies that much

What are your personal goals in life?

I never set any goals for myself now. I am not doing business, so I don’t need to strive for goal for sales. I see myself as a social worker at a higher level, where I can help the people and society through my position. It is difficult to set personal goals in politics, especially in a opposition party like the DAP. I don’t aim to be conferred any datukship or strive for any position in the cabinet or hope to get projects from the government. If I wanted all these superficial things, I wouldn’t have joined DAP in the first place. I never aimed to be a MP when I first joined the party but since I am now one I try to bring changes and improve the DAP. My greatest hope is to recruit and get more people to work for the party, and to make the DAP strong in terms of organisation and finance. I can’t do it by myself, it is a team work, it is a never-ending work.

How do you see yourself 20 years from now?

Don’t know. As I said, it is difficult to plan for myself in opposition politics. I believe the Almighty God will lead me in the path of my life. He is my Great Shepherd, and I shall not worry. (Psalm 23)

That’s our Sassy MP, one and only.

Those who know her know she has a heart of gold and she thanks God daily for all the guidance He gives her as He walks hand-in-hand with her in her journey through the political Valley of the Shadow of Death with no fear.

One of her colleagues describes her best: “There are no dirty tricks when Teresa is concerned. What you see is what you get (wysiwyg).” Amen.

Thank-you Teresa for an awesome interview.

Ok, now I tag Ariel to blog the 14th countdown entry for the 50 Posts To Independence series. Kit Siang, Betty Chew, Guan Eng, Teresa and her dinner.

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The Chow Kon Yeow Interview

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