Fong to reconsider no-contest' decision
The country's youngest member of parliament Fong Po Kuan said she would reconsider the decision not to defend her seat at the next general election, after meeting with DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang this morning.
The 30-year-old Batu Gajah MP told a press conference in Ipoh she was willing to do this as a mark of respect for the veteran opposition leader who met her at the Perak DAP headquarters.
Fong said she would discuss the matter further with Lim and other party leaders but declined to comment further.
"I have nothing more to say," Bernama quoted her as saying.
The law graduate from the International Islamic University won the parliamentary seat in the 1999 general election at the age of 26 by defeating Barisan Nasional candidate Yeong Chew Wah with a majority vote of 2,071.
Apart from being the country's youngest MP, she was also the first female opposition parliamentarian in Perak.
In December 2001, she was suspended for six months without pay for publicly criticising the Dewan Rakyat speaker for rejecting her urgent motion to debate the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination scandal.
The country's youngest member of parliament Fong Po Kuan said she would reconsider the decision not to defend her seat at the next general election, after meeting with DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang this morning.
The 30-year-old Batu Gajah MP told a press conference in Ipoh she was willing to do this as a mark of respect for the veteran opposition leader who met her at the Perak DAP headquarters.
Fong said she would discuss the matter further with Lim and other party leaders but declined to comment further.
"I have nothing more to say," Bernama quoted her as saying.
The law graduate from the International Islamic University won the parliamentary seat in the 1999 general election at the age of 26 by defeating Barisan Nasional candidate Yeong Chew Wah with a majority vote of 2,071.
Apart from being the country's youngest MP, she was also the first female opposition parliamentarian in Perak.
In December 2001, she was suspended for six months without pay for publicly criticising the Dewan Rakyat speaker for rejecting her urgent motion to debate the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination scandal.
Baseless speculation
Meanwhile, Lim said he had asked Fong to reconsider her decision as she was still young and had carried out her responsibilities well despite the suspension.
He said the suspension had taken a toll on her and this could be one of the reasons behind her decision not to seek re-election.
"Since I stepped down as secretary-general three years ago, I have taken a back seat where party decisions are concerned. I was surprised when I read in the newspapers about Fong's matter," he said at the same press conference.
The DAP chief added he had gone to Perak to show support for Fong and criticised Chinese newspapers for carrying reports which he claimed were untrue and for their baseless speculation on the matter.
According to the Bernama report, both Fong and Lim had repeatedly declined to answer queries on what prompted the former to make the decision.
Chinese newspapers reported that Fong would not seek re-election due to "personal reasons" and that she had received offers to pursue higher studies abroad.
Yesterday, Fong had also told malaysiakini that her decision was based on "personal reasons" and not related to any internal issue. However, she declined to elaborate on whether it was due to further her studies.
