MALAYSIANS KINI Clad in a black and white outfit with his hair neatly combed to the side, Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang certainly looks the part of a lawyer.

His imposing height somewhat surprises this writer as she is used to only seeing his visage on social media. His clean-shaven face and youthful looks, however, belies a man reaching the age of 40.

With over 65,000 followers, coupled with his tweets that average 10 daily, Twitter users may be much more familiar with him.

One would therefore be forgiven to assume that he simply has too much time on his hands, but Tan is actually a very busy man.

When he’s not working at the office in Alor Setar, Kedah from Sunday to Thursday handling commercial and corporate law matters, Tan travels all over the country in his capacity as Gerakan’s national Youth chief on Friday and Saturday.

Whatever time he has left and therefore, his idea of a fun time, is to spend it with his three children, aged between two and seven years.

But the 39-year-old believes that travelling is simply part and parcel of his job as a politician. Although his family is understanding, Tan admits that his children sometimes wonder about the whereabouts of their father.

Tan therefore has his wife to thank, his ‘home minister’ who took the decision to become a full-time housewife.

The Penang born, Kedah bred lawyer used to have many hobbies which ranged from playing chess, tennis, badminton and computer games, but all of that have become things of the past, except for tennis.

Hard-pressed for time most of the time, Tan, who was in Kuala Lumpur for the interview, however makes sure to buy movie tickets beforehand to watch the superhero movie 'X-Men: Apocalypse' with his children.

Yesterday was the first day the movie showed in Alor Setar, so the tickets were bought to make sure that he fulfills his promise to his children. This is especially so, rues Tan, since he had missed 'The Angry Birds Movie'.

And this is why the University of Bristol alumni argues that his constant tweeting does not mean that he has too much time on his hands, rather, he's just not used to staying idle when he has even a bit of time to spare.

Less than a minute

One tweet, he points out, takes him less than a minute, therefore, 10 tweets would only take up 10 minutes of his time in a day. Tan says he mostly tweets when he is waiting; for a person, for his food or at the airport.

The ‘Twitter Tan Keng Liang’, too, is not a persona which he showcases to the public. Tan denies there is an administrator who tweets on his behalf and also denies that he tweets to garner attention, pointing out that the current attention he has is more than enough already.

For Tan, he only tweets based on what he feels and believes in and disagrees with critics who brand him as a ‘troll’ on social media.

A troll, says the lawyer, is one who repeats something to gain the attention of the other person. Tan argues that he merely expresses his views and does not target any particular person.

He repeats a particular point to show that he had made the point, and the lack of answer from the other party is proof that he or she cannot answer his questions.

Here is his story, in his own words.

MATURITY LEVEL OF MALAYSIANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA HAVE IMPROVED. During the last general election when it was claimed that there were 40,000 Bangladeshi voters, people believed whatever that was posted on social media by the opposition. That shows how social media users were quite gullible.

But human nature is this - once someone cheats you, you will learn your lesson, so they don’t believe such claims that much anymore. Take the Sarawak state election, people don't really bother about what social media says. They are able to analyse way much better than 2013. Social media users are more well-versed, they know what can and cannot be trusted.

I ONCE CONTEMPLATED JOINING DAP. I’ll be frank, in the year 2000 after my chambering, I did consider joining either Gerakan or DAP. I wanted to see which party would be able to give freedom to its leaders to express things that they feel should be done or rectified. In the end, I chose Gerakan; I didn't choose DAP because I don't really agree to the way (DAP leader) Lim Kit Siang plays politics.

GERAKAN ALLOWS MEMBERS TO SAY THINGS THEY FEEL IS RIGHT. I voice out whatever that I feel is necessary in the interest of Malaysians and BN. My party doesn't stop me from saying whatever we feel is right for the country. When I was Kedah Gerakan Youth chief no one from my party ever stopped me from voicing out. I voiced out against BN and voiced out against the state policies of the then Pakatan Rakyat-led Kedah government. The party allows my voice to be heard. I have been tweeting since 2010, no one has instructed me on what to tweet. This is one of the main things why I chose Gerakan and still remain in Gerakan.

I HAVE NEVER DISAGREED WITH THE VIEWS OF MY DEPUTY. As I said, Gerakan doesn't restrict any views. I agree with some of his (Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong) views, some I have not even thought of. But up until today, I’ve never disagreed with his views. He has the right to express his views, it’s one of the positive sides of Gerakan.

He (Yong) doesn't tweet his views about the opposition. But as he is based in Selangor, he does voice out against the Selangor government. I think he has done a good job in that. I made many views; pro, against, but people tend to focus on what I say against the opposition because maybe that’s what attracts the people. I do make comments when I feel certain government policies are wrong or need to be adjusted.

I DON’T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH OTHER GERAKAN YOUTH LEADERS. So far it’s okay, I’m still the Gerakan Youth chief, I have not been removed. It’s nothing like what is happening in PKR - no one has passed any motion against me.

People tend to focus on sensational news. We have a big family; when it’s big, there are bound to be differences. After the party elections, I accepted everyone back, everyone was given the opportunity to come back. So far I feel that I made the right choice in putting everyone in. So if there are differences in there, I would have to accept.

I CHOSE TO SUPPORT BN BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE ANY OTHER OPTIONS. Our country is facing a crossroads of either choosing BN or Pakatan Harapan, you don’t have a third option. Forget about the third force, we are not up to that level yet. Even the opposition is not really a formidable force to even be considered as a second option.

Imagine if we had chosen to put Pakatan in Putrajaya in 2013, what would happen to Putrajaya today with all the squabbles. They cannot even agree on simple things; like who to contest which seat. These are basic political matters that should be settled by all parties. If they are voted into Putrajaya, we will have political chaos in the country and the country will be left hanging.

Take for instance (PKR de facto) Anwar Ibrahim’s letter, even such a simple thing cannot be addressed by Pakatan. They can't even have a proper stand on the letter. The only answer I saw is that it’s an internal matter. But to me, it's not internal, it’s an opposition matter which involves the policies of the opposition and therefore the public’s interest.

BN IS NOT THE BEST OPTION, BUT IT’S THE BETTER OPTION. I’m open to all ideas, if there's a better party that comes in one day, I may choose to support that. But for the time being, BN is the better option. I’m not saying it’s the best, but it’s the better option for people to consider. When it comes to Putrajaya, we need firm, clear directions. I’m hoping that people would support BN because we have to look at the bigger picture instead of the small things.

It’s not necessary to choose the best option because the best may not exist. So you choose the better option.

Some say that I’m pro-BN. I ask back, what other options do we have? As to why I support (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak (photo), I would pose the question back to those who ask, if Najib is not around, who's going to be the prime minister?

If the opposition is given the choice, would they put Anwar as the prime minister? They can't even agree as to who they want to be the prime minister. Even Anwar's letter can be an issue, what more about him being the prime minister. It's always simple for people to ask a person to resign, but after that, what will happen? These people don't think.

Sarawak voters are smart, they think carefully. They have seen a good leader in (Sarawak chief minister) Adenan Satem, so they voted in favour of him. I think people are beginning to realise that they want leaders who can deliver. Leaders in the peninsular have to take heed of what Sarawak’s been doing. We need leaders who can implement progressive policies for the country. If the result is there, the votes will automatically come back. It’s something the peninsula can learn from Sarawak.

I’M OKAY WITH A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM as there will be check and balance. But in order to have this, we need to have a constructive opposition. We cannot have an opposition that is destructive; plays politics 24 hours, seven days a week. That’s bad for the country. Too much internal squabble defeats the purpose of a two-party system and will only cause more problems to the people.

THOSE WHO BELIEVE ANWAR CAN STILL BE PM ARE BEHIND TIMES. A political party is not dependent on any personality, it instead goes with the policies. I can't say anyone in Pakatan can (play Anwar’s role as the opposition’s glue) because everyone that I see in there are all fighting each other.

I don’t know who is good or bad. I don’t want to give any names, as I would only be inflicting problems to that person. If I name that person, people within Pakatan will try to kill him as a potential threat to Anwar, it’s not right for me to name.

BUT ANWAR’S REPLACEMENT WOULD BE SOMEONE FROM PKR, if Pakatan still exists. I also say PKR because DAP will always fight with PAS. Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) is not relevant. I don't think they are really relevant in terms of existence in the country’s political landscape. The formidable opposition exists among PKR, DAP and PAS.

The coming by-elections will be a good gauge, whether Amanah will be allowed to contest - that will show how relevant Amanah is. If Amanah is relevant, they would allow Amanah to contest even if it's just one seat.

I HAVEN’T REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT CONTESTING IN THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION. For BN, we work as a family among components, whether there’s going to be a candidate or not is the decision of BN. Gerakan has always made certain changes in our strategies such as appointing coordinators in traditional seats that we’ve contested in the past.

We have started working. As Youth chief, I would have to help, there's no particular decision as to where to contest, it’s the decision of BN and my party. For Gerakan, we know our strength at which parliamentary areas or localities. We cannot insist to go to places where we don’t have the base. BN makes decisions based on the strength of the party and the needs of the people. The final say is the discretion of the prime minister as chairperson of BN.

I SUPPORT FOR ACTION TO BE TAKEN AGAINST THOSE WHO TARNISH THE COUNTRY’S IMAGE OVERSEAS. I didn’t support the ban against (Bersih chief) Maria Chin Abdullah, my tweet didn't specify that.

Maria (photo) is not my concern, anyway. I had looked at certain reports, people talked about others who tarnish the country’s image when they are overseas and no one is taking action against them.

We cannot allow such cultures to be cultivated. If there's any squabble it should be expressed internally. Just like in any family, you solve the problems in the house, you don’t go to the pasar malam and use a loudspeaker to talk bad about your family. In the olden days, people used to send them to the gallows. Today, people do not support harsh punishments, but we cannot let those who tarnish the country’s image get away scot-free, either.

I HAVE NO ISSUE OF PEOPLE RIDICULING THE GOVERNMENT. You can ridicule any government, that’s fair, anyone is open to criticism. But you cannot promote your criticism as if the whole country is having a problem. If you say your country is corrupt, that’s tarnishing the image of the country, but if you specify which government agency was involved in a scandal, that’s different. The problem is, some people do not differentiate when they are overseas.

If the government is wrong, you say the government is wrong. If you say BN is wrong, go ahead, you are free to do it. But don't lump in everything as if Malaysians are problematic people. Unless it’s defamatory, then anyone can criticise the government. If it’s not defamatory and it’s true, then there's no need to punish the person. But if it’s defamatory then legal action can be taken by the government.

I’M NOT AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN. I was responding to a person who asked how the people in Subang Jaya should vote (in the last general election). I only suggested for them to vote another lady or Hannah Yeoh who was pregnant.

It was only one tweet but my words were twisted. I learned my lesson- the opposition will twist whatever you say. I contemplated taking legal action against (Seputeh MP) Teresa Kok (photo) but I didn't because in politics, I don't think suing is the solution to everything.

I clarified with the press, I never said I was against a person taking maternity leave, I never said I'm against pregnant women. I wouldn't be that dumb to put it out openly, that time I was hitting hard against Pakatan in Kedah, they wanted something against me.

My wife was pregnant three times, I cannot be sexist against pregnant women, she’ll kick me out from the house. But it’s a life lesson, that in politics, your enemies and people who want you out will cook up any kind of stories in order to tarnish your reputation. But you just have to bear it and weather the storm, there’s no need to get upset over it.

I DON’T THINK SUING IS THE BEST ANSWER IN POLITICS. I have contemplated to suing a few times, against Harakah and Keadilan Daily but in the end, I didn't do it after being advised. Which I agree; in politics suing is never the best option. In politics it’s all about perception, it’s what people think. When you sue, you may get a few cents, or thousands of ringgit, but your energy and time have been wasted. And I don't have that much in resources to keep on hiring lawyers.

NAJIB’S CASE IS DIFFERENT, IT WAS SEVERE. His situation had gotten out of hand. My case was not as severe as his, his case was so bad – it’s unprecedented the way people wrote about him. At the time during Hannah’s case I was just the Kedah Gerakan Youth chief.

But if they (the opposition) defame me today, as national youth chief, it’s actually almost like defaming the party, then I may be forced to take legal action against them to protect my party’s name. The prime minister is different, he’s representing the country.

Then why didn't he sue the Wall Street Journal, you may ask. Like I said, sometimes it's not the best solution. The more you sue, the more they will stir things up. The best would be to let the facts reveal themselves. The RM2.6 billion donation, for example, the Saudi foreign minister confirmed it was a donation, that's why nowadays people don't talk much about the donation. The facts are the best to justify everything and to win over people.

 

 

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