No bowing out as exco for Ronnie Liu
Never mind the calls for his resignation, but Selangor state executive councillor Ronnie Liu, who lost in the state party elections last Sunday, is adamant that there is no reason for him to quit as it is a state government position.
Never mind the calls for his resignation, but Selangor state executive councillor Ronnie Liu, who lost in the state party elections last Sunday, is adamant that there is no reason for him to quit as it is a state government position.
His record shows, he said, that he has been good at his job, which would in turn reflect well on the party.
"I am a competent exco member. I am transparent and I am accountable for whatever I do. I am a believer of the competency-accountability-transparency (CAT) model.
"Everything I do is above board... all the local governments have improved in their performance and all but one have (budget) surpluses," said the Local Government and Housing exco member in an interview with Malaysiakini on Wednesday.
The senior Selangor DAP member, who only
managed
to pick up 369 votes last Sunday, also claimed that his appointment as exco has nothing to do with his position in the party.
"I don't know where this comes from. Not all party leaders are exco members.
"In certain states, not all exco members are party leaders or committee members, and if you know the DAP, you will know that not all (central executive council) leaders get involved in state polls. I didn't need to.
"When (senior state exco and now Selangor DAP chairperson) Teresa (Kok) was appointed, she was not even a member of Selangor DAP. This shows that you need not be a part of the state line-up to be an exco," he said.
‘Not the end of the road'
In fact, Liu said, the thought of resigning had never crossed his mind.
Similarly, he added that the exco line-up, too, has never questioned his legitimacy and that others who do may actually have other motives.
"A person should step down when that person feels he (or she) cannot serve any more. You don't wait for others to tell you. As far as Ronnie Liu is concerned, I decide (whether or not to resign).
"(The people who have called for my resignation) don't understand the (state-party) structure. This was not even discussed (at the exco meeting) because they are very clear... there are other exco members who lost in their party election bids, besides those who did not even join the race," he said.
Likewise, the senior DAP man believes that his fairly severe defeat would have no bearing in his state constituency, Pandamaran, should he be given the chance to defend his seat there in the next general election.
"When the people are happy to note that we have given out 100 pieces of land for places of worship, they will say that this DAP rep is doing his work.
"The Chinese independent schools in Klang get half a million ringgit every year when before they got ilek (nothing), of course they're happy," he said.
He added that any manner of smear campaigns by former aide and staunch supporter Tee Boon Hock was also unlikely to gain traction as the latter "does not even live in Pandamaran".
"(My detractors) will have to work very hard. It is not the end of the road for Ronnie Liu. I have lost in (many) elections before. Winning and losing is part of parcel of politics, you better accept it. Trouble is my friend," he said.
Part 1: 'Unity team would have lost without me'
