PKR today threw open its doors to Dr Tan Yee Kew, who quit MCA after serving 20 years in the Chinese-based ruling party.

“I would like to invite Tan, the former member of parliament for Klang, to join PKR for the betterment of Malaysia,” said PKR women’s wing information chief Elizabeth Wong.

elizabeth wong ellie selangor interview 080408 Wong ( left ), who is also Selangor state executive councillor, said the former MCA leader’s “experience and zeal” will enhance the opposition party’s policies.

Tan tendered her resignation as MCA’s senior central committee member yesterday. At her press conference, she said PKR was her preferred choice but she would announce her decision later.

She is the first high-ranking MCA leader to abandon the party after it was thumped in the general elections.

“Tan’s concerns in regards to the pervasiveness of racial politics, corruption, the economic situation and the enforced homogeneity of a singular party dominating the political landscape in this country echo that of PKR,” said Wong.

“We will welcome Tan and urge more Malaysians to join us in this noble quest,” she added.

Tan to head Klang Municipal Council?

There has been talk that when Tan joins PKR, she will be appointed chairperson of Klang Municipal Council.

tan yee kew quit mca pc 170708 group If that is the case, Tan would be the third person from BN to work for Pakatan Rakyat state governments.

The first to make the move was former Gerakan deputy secretary-general Lee Kah Choon who accepted the Penang government’s offer to head two key state agencies - InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation.

He was followed by Gerakan’s Federal Territory chief, Dr Tan Kee Kwong, who joined a Pakatan set-up task force to handle land management in Selangor.

Yee Kew, a former deputy Wanita chief, was a three-term MP for Klang but she was dropped from the candidates list in the 2008 general elections.