JOHOR BARU: Frictions are appearing within Johor DAP, with former chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau accusing his successor Liew Chin Tong of lobbying for senatorship from the state government.

       The former Skudai assemblyman, who is now the state party central committee member, accused Liew of assuring the state Pakatan Harapan council he could get the support from the Johor government and other parties concerned to be appointed as a senator under the state quota.

       “After getting statements from various Johor Pakatan component party leaders sitting on the state Pakatan council, I have been informed that Liew, in early August, had misled the council into believing that he was able to get enough support from Johor Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional, and other parties concerned to appoint him as the senator under the state government quota.

       “I was also informed that a motion would be proposed to the following state assembly sitting under Liew's claim that he was able to get the support to appoint him as senator.

       “Nonetheless, the motion was withdrawn after Liew failed to prove that he could garner enough support to ensure the resolution’s passage by the Johor assembly, while the vast majority of Pakatan assemblymen were even unaware of the existence of the proposed resolution,” he said in a statement here on Wednesday (Dec 29).

       Dr Boo also claimed that the proposed motion was never made known or approved by the Johor DAP committee.

       “I have raised the issue and questioned Liew in the Johor DAP state committee WhatsApp group chat, where he never denied the incident,” Dr Boo added.

       After the 2018 general election, which Liew contested and lost in the Ayer Hitam parliamentary seat against Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, the Pakatan government made him a senator and appointed him as deputy defence minister.

       However, his term has since expired in the middle of this year.

       There are currently 54 Dewan Negara members, with four in the Opposition from Pakatan. The coalition is in a confidence and supply agreement (CSA) with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

       Dr Boo also accused Liew of organising a series of online meetings between DAP MPs from other states and Johor DAP grassroots.

       "During one of the meetings, MPs from Johor DAP, one MP from another state and a few former Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers fiercely attacked Pakatan president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

       "It has confused and also destabilised the unity among Johor grassroots members by repeatedly going against the Pakatan presidential council's resolution that Anwar is Pakatan’s only candidate for prime minister," he added.

       Dr Boo said it was these series of online meetings which led him to conduct further investigations, and the discovery of the alleged plan to nominate Liew for senatorship.

       Dr Boo said he had sent an email to the Pakatan leadership council demanding an investigation against Liew and questioned whether there were any secret deals between him and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the prime minister at the time concerning his own appointment as a senator.

       Meanwhile, state DAP deputy chairman Teo Nie Ching rubbished Dr Boo’s allegations against Liew, saying it was baseless.

       She said it was regrettable that Dr Boo chose to use select facts to defame Liew and cast aspersions on the party former ministers and deputy ministers at a time when there is a real threat of a snap state election in Johor.

       “State party leaders meet often with grassroots members to discuss the latest political scenarios and situations, almost on a monthly basis. A pre-arranged session was held on Aug 16, after Muhyiddin resigned as prime minister and before the new prime minister was selected.

       “When members asked if Anwar was going to have the numbers to be the next prime minister, leaders shared their candid and frank views behind closed doors that Anwar did not have the numbers.

       “Johor DAP leadership sees the need to be truthful and frank with members, especially in a closed-door setting,” she said.

       On the proposed senatorship, Teo added that one of the two senatorships elected by the Johor assembly has been vacant since 2020.

       She said the state Pakatan viewed that one of the two senators should be from Pakatan, given the composition of the state assembly, which was 29 from the government and 27 from the Opposition coalition at that point of time.

       “Johor Pakatan nominated a candidate in November, 2020 and decided to explore again in August this year. On both occasions, the state government did not agree to open for nomination, hence the position remains vacant until this day.

       “In the process of exploration, the DAP national candidature committee agreed that in the event of the vacancy being opened for nomination, DAP would nominate Liew to the position, subject to the consent of our Pakatan allies.

       “Nomination for candidates in DAP is decided by the national candidature committee, not by the state committees,” she said, adding that as a former state chairman, Dr Boo should know this process well.

       Teo also said the discussion has nothing to do with the Memorandum of Understanding between Pakatan and the present government.

       “Dr Boo should not make baseless allegations with the intention of casting doubts on the credibility of DAP leaders, including Liew, and the unnamed former ministers and deputy ministers.

       “The state DAP party election is over. All leaders and members must now unite to fight the upcoming state election and national general election. The challenges ahead of us are daunting and we do not need such distractions,” she said.