KOTA KINABALU: All purported termination and suspension of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) office bearers and party leaders are done purely to serve the interest of the president who wants to cling on to position and power despite the fact that he has lost the majority support, said Datuk Teo Chee Kang.
Teo, who issued a press statement as LDP secretary general yesterday, slammed the move by Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk Liew Vui Keong to suspend the membership of 29 party leaders in the supreme council meeting on September 8 this year as simply madness.
”It is tyrannical and a total disregard of the great majority of the grassroots members,” said Teo.
The 29 suspended party leaders include four vice presidents, the Youth chief, who is also a vice president, party speaker, secretary general, treasurer general, chief publicity officer, organising secretary, deputy secretary general, deputy treasurer general and 14 other supreme council members. The suspension list includes 15 division chairmen. The membership of deputy president cum Api-Api division chairman Datuk Chin Su Phin was also suspended earlier.
”By doing so, he has pressed the self-destruction button for himself as the president. It is equivalent to severing the limbs and body of the party leaving merely a head to function as a party,” he said in his press statement.
Teo added it was a lie to say that 35 supreme council members attended the meeting.
”Even if the purportedly appointed new secretary general, chief publicity officer, organising secretary and deputy treasurer general were counted, which is denied, there were at most nine supreme council members in the meeting,” he explained.
Teo said only four of the 35 supreme council members, namely the president himself, Charles Pang, Robert Lee Chew Fah and Datuk Kwan Wing Hung attended the meeting, of which only the president was elected. The other three are all supreme council members by appointment.
”It is preposterous that the fate of 30 party’s key office bearers, elected supreme council members and division chairmen representing members from 19 divisions could be determined by merely one elected leader,” he pointed out.
Teo added that the party constitution does not confer power to the supreme council for suspension of membership.
The only provision for suspension of member is found under paragraph 44 of the Constitution which provides that:
g(c) The Disciplinary Committee shall have the power to suspend or expel any members when it considers that the interest of the Party so requires, but before a member is suspended or expelled, his conduct shall be enquired into by the Committee and he shall be informed of the complaints against him and be given an opportunity to defend and explain himself;
(d) In any case, if the President considers that immediate action to suspend is desirable in the interest of the Party, the President may suspend a member pending action by the Disciplinary Committee.
In other words, the power to suspend or expel any members lies with the Disciplinary Committee, if desirable in the interest of the party, the president may only do so if the subject matter is already pending action before the Disciplinary Committee, Teo said.
”However, before the purported suspension, no complaint against any of the ‘suspended’ party leaders was made to the Disciplinary Committee which consists of Datuk Chin Su Phin, Lim Kong Yuk, Chin Yen Sang and myself. I maintain that all purported termination and suspension of office bearers and party leaders are done purely in the interest of the president who wants to cling on to position and power despite the fact that he has lost the majority support,” Teo reiterated.
He pointed out that such terminations and suspensions were clearly ultra vires the party constitution and therefore void.
”It is clearly written on the wall that the party wants a leadership change, if Datuk Liew Vui Keong still thinks he has the support to lead the party, the only honourable thing to do is to have a free and fair election.
”Let the delegates decide who should lead the party,” Teo said.