KOAY GOES ‘INDEPENDENT’

Pulau Tikus assemblyman Koay Teng Hai, who has been suspended by the DAP, says he will now serve his constituents as an ‘independent’.

PENANG: A Facebook posting by the wife of Pulau Tikus DAP assemblyman Koay Teng Hai has become a talking point as she implied that Koay was in his current situation as he did not pray to the “tokong” (deity).

Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press reported that Lee Su Li posted on Koay’s Facebook: “Teng Hai, Teng Hai! You pray in almost all the temples in Penang but you forget to pray to ‘The One’ ....” (this is a direct translation from the posting in Mandarin).

Lee’s posting was in reply to Koay’s message to his supporters where he apologised for being suspended from the party for six months.

Even though Lee did not directly state who she was referring to, some people had linked the posting to the incident where Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman had allegedly said that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was regarded as a “tokong” by the people in Penang.

The remarks came public in a leaked recording, which was later reproduced in an online news report and a news broadcast.

Lee’s reply had received “Like” from some Netizens.

Koay was suspended from the party for missing a crucial Penang state assembly meeting.

His action almost resulted in Pakatan Rakyat missing the necessary two-thirds majority vote to amend the state constitution.

When asked by the Nanyang reporter whether he would contest as an independent candidate, Koay said he would only comment at the appropriate time.

Koay said he had received a lot of messages from his supporters and thanked them for their support.