Penang Gerakan vice-chairman Oh Tong Keong said the sudden sacking was unusual, as the Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) chief had served in the same position for the past nine years without any political affiliation.
The JKKK chairmanship in question was located in a state seat held by PKR.
According to Oh, the chief would be usually from the party that won the respective state seat. Meanwhile, the rest of the regular members can consist of non-political appointees or political appointees from Pakatan Harapan.
“I want to question the leaders of PKR, are they blind to what is happening? Why, after nearly nine years, was the JKKK chairman let go?
“Are they afraid of raising objections, fearing they would lose their allocations? This clearly shows that the spirit of democracy and power sharing in Pakatan Harapan is gone,” Oh said at a press conference today.
Chiam Tchek Owing, who was Kampung Juru JKKK chairman, was recently let go after he allegedly refused to become a DAP member.
Chiam had been chief since 2009 and was reportedly not affiliated with any political party.
He was replaced by Cheah Kim Weng, a 53-year-old plumber and DAP member. Three-quarters of the committee was also replaced along with Chiam, Kwong Wah Yit Poh reported.
It was widely speculated that Chiam’s dismissal was due to his vocal objection to a state government project on a foreign workers’ dorm in the area, The Star reported. He had led a residents’ protest against the building of the dorm last year.
The Penang government however denied the claims.
Oh said Chiam’s dismissal was a signal that DAP was looking to contest Chinese-majority PKR seats.
He said it was likely that many other PKR seats would be taken over by PPBM and Amanah.
“This is just the beginning. It appears that PKR will not be able to keep its four MP seats and 16 state seats that were won in the last election.
“We expect Penang PKR’s seats will be reduced to three MP seats and 12 state seats in the future. It is likely that PKR candidates will be fielded as the third party in straight fights between Umno and PAS.”
Oh said he was merely speaking up for PKR as he was genuinely concerned about the party. He said Penang PKR members did not dare to speak up.
“Hence we are setting up a ‘ZZJJPKR’ campaign, which means ‘We must save PKR’. It is our way of helping those who are being bullied,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy said the appointing and firing of JKKK chiefs and its members were the prerogative of the state government.
“Chiam was let go from his position as he refused to resign from his position, as the JKKK seat fell into the DAP members-only quota. That means the chairmanship, secretary, and treasurer must be a DAP member.
“Although the Penang government allowed Chiam to hold the position for the past nine years, we advised him to become a DAP member or resign. He ignored our advice and we were left with no choice but to let him go.
“Oh Tong Keong is purposely politicising the issue to make it look like there is enmity between DAP and PKR. He is trying to create a rift between DAP and PKR.
“Gerakan is no longer relevant in Penang after losing badly in the past two general elections. This is because it has been subservient to Umno,” Ramasamy said in a statement.