Kong denies being a ‘pawn’ after Padungan rep quits DAP

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Michael Kong Feng Nian

KUCHING: Michael Kong, special assistant to Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, has defended the remarks he recently made that purportedly contributed to Padungan assemblyman Wong King Wei’s decision to quit DAP.

In a Facebook post today, Kong said he was “merely issuing a personal opinion” about Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations (SFCA) president Dato Richard Wee last week, asserting that the comments were his own.

“There was an implied comment that my Facebook post on 21.07.2020 was devised by DAP leaders and this is totally untrue. All statements that I post on my Facebook page are written by me.

“To suggest otherwise is totally inaccurate and casts unnecessary aspersions that I am merely a pawn for other’s doing. I will never allow myself to be one,” he said.

Announcing his resignation last night, Wong said in a statement last night that Kong’s criticism of Wee had made his “skin crawl”.

“If DAP cannot even take comments that are not in favour of them, and has to resort to personal attacks, the party should be worried about where it is heading,” he added.

Kong had criticised Wee for saying that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) was gaining support among the Chinese community for the ruling coalition’s continued efforts to defend Sarawak’s rights.

Kong today maintained that he did not tell Wee that he had to stop criticising Pakatan Harapan (PH) and praise GPS, adding that DAP respected the freedom of speech under the Federal Constitution.

Revealing that he had known Wong for about three years and had worked with him on a court case, he thanked Wong for what he had done for the people in Padungan.

“As a fellow who dearly loves Sarawak, I believe we both will agree that GPS is not the way forward. As stated by YB Wong King Wei, he merely feels against the manner of execution but not the principles of the party as a whole,” said Kong.

Wong, who was DAP Sarawak vice chairman, also said in the statement last night that he was disillusioned with the direction and the way DAP had been managed which had totally deviated from the aims, objectives and struggle in the earlier days when he first joined the party back in 2006.

Padungan, Batu Lintang and Pending are three state seats under the Bandar Kuching Parliamentary constituency.

The Borneo Post had contacted DAP leaders including Chong for comments on Wong’s resignation but they had so far not responded.