Regarded as a “lone ranger” for his views, Teh earned the displeasure of the party leadership by voting by his conscience on a state assembly motion critical of the state government.
He was subsequently chastised and made a public apology but suffered repercussions by being frozen out of constituency allocations of state funds.
Teh ended his 18 years as DAP member at a simple ceremony in his service centre here by handing over his resignation letter and membership card to Tanjung Bungah branch chairman Lim Cheng Hoe. The resignation letter is addressed to state party chairman Chow Kon Yeow.
Teh confirmed that he intended to contest the Sungai Pinang state seat, won by DAP’s Lim Siew Khim in 2013.
He declined to reveal his new political affiliation. An announcement would be made tomorrow with “new friends and a new platform”, he said.
Teh also said he did not request or provoke any DAP member from Tanjung Bungah to follow him. “It is up to them to decide for themselves. I would rather they stay back and help stabilise the party,” he said.
Teh won in Tanjung Bungah in the March 2008 general election and was returned again in May 2013.
However, he announced in October last year that he would depart from the party at the end of his term due to differences with the DAP-led state government.
The Penang government subsequently stripped him of his constituency allocations amounting to nearly RM200,000, as well as other powers accorded to state assemblymen from DAP and PKR to sign off documents pertaining to payment of aid to constituents.
Teh said he was not defending his Tanjung Bungah seat in response to a challenge that he should only occupy it for two terms. He has previously called for a two-term limit on the posts of prime minister, chief minister and menteri besar.
“I also choose not to remain in Tanjung Bungah as I do not want the party to come back and attack me by saying that I am using their resources to fight them. Therefore, I am returning this seat to them,” he said.
He said he was going to “start from zero” with a smaller new party just as he did with DAP when he joined it in 2000.
He added that he wanted to challenge himself in a new constituency and Sungai Pinang had a greater racial mix of voters.
Teh thanked the Tanjung Bungah constituents for their support over the last two terms, and expressed hope that they would understand why he was leaving.
He said he hoped Tanjung Bungah voters would lead the way in sending a “third voice”, not aligned with either Pakatan Harapan or Barisan Nasional, to the Penang assembly to provide checks and balances to the ruling government.
Tanjung Bungah DAP rep loses right to RM200,000 annual allocation