KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Likas division has announced its support for the party’s secretary-general Datuk Teo Chee Kang to contest for the post of party president.
Likas division chairman Chin Shu Ying said the decision was made after discussion with the division’s members.
“If Teo thinks that he is ready to lead the party, we will support him to contest for party president,” he said.
Chin said contests for the top post in the party was a healthy scenario, which reflected the ‘liberal’ and ‘democratic’ spirit of the party.
“The contest will prompt party leaders to listen and get closer to party members, to understand the changes and direction they want,” he said.
If there are no contests within party, leaders may stay in their comfort zone after holding the posts for a substantial amount of time.
“Having contests will prompt the leader to work harder,” he said in a press conference here yesterday.
As for the party deputy president post, Chin said, LDP Likas division will support Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin to contest for that post. Su Phin is also the incumbent deputy president of LDP.
Chin believes that the contest would not divide the party because LDP party members have reached a certain level of political maturity after going through numerous struggles for the past 20 years.
He added that it would be up to the nominees to convince the members to support them by telling them how they would lead the party and which direction they intend to move forward to.
“If the party members agree, they will support them, no matter which posts they vie for – president, deputy president or vice presidents,” he said.
On the LDP supreme council’s resolution not to have the top two party posts contested, Chin said the supreme council had the right to pass any resolution but it was non-binding.
“Ultimately, if the supreme council’s decision was not passed by all party members, including in an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), then party members are not bound by the resolution,” he said.
Chin pointed out that the resolution was only the supreme council’s wish, which party members can agree or disagree. It would be more appropriate, Chin said, to hold another supreme council meeting to determine if the resolution was acceptable to party members after the nomination is finalized on September 15.