The season for quitting and crossing over parties appears to be in full swing as the 13th general election draws near, but some are said to be abandoning their political allegiances after failing to secure seats for the contest.

Gelugor PKR information chief Dr Gurdial Singh said that his former division chief, Lim Boo Chang, may be one such person as he was said to have quit the party last week due to his failure to secure a seat for the upcoming polls, which may be called in the first quarter of next year.

Gurdial said he based his statements on speculation and public information circulating among members and other interested parties.

Boo Chang, a former Datuk Keramat assemblyperson has jumped parties twice; from Gerakan to MCA in 1995, which he left to join PKR after the 2008 general election.

Last week, Boo Chang also relinquished his Penang municipal (MPPP) councillor post and expressed his “unilateral intention” to rejoin Gerakan, which he served for 15 years.

However, his former party has shown little interest in his application.

lim boo chang join pkr2 “We heard from all the information circulating around that Boo Chang wanted an assurance in writing from the leadership that he be given a seat (to contest) but he was unable to get that assurance, so he quit,” Gurdial told Malaysiakini.

“As a party member, one has to be patient. Boo Chang was impatient. One cannot demand such things but wait for the party to decide,” he added.

About 100 interested in joining PKR

When Boo Chang announced his resignation, he cited disillusionment in the party's leadership and accused the DAP of being ‘arrogant and abusive’, blaming Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for intervening in the decision-making process of MPPP.

He added that along with him, many would also be leaving the party as they were also tired of the empty promises and internal fighting between members.

But Gurdial denied that more than 300 party members have departed from the Bukit Gelugor division last Saturday.

Instead, he said that since Boo Chang resigned, about 100 people have expressed their interest in joining PKR in Penang.

“We are in the process of receiving and processing their forms. And we will submit the forms to the state leadership for approval when we meet on Jan 7,” Gurdial said.

“As far as we know, only two persons have resigned from Bukit Gelugor - Boo Chang and division deputy chief Roslan Rahman Shah. Besides them, no one has sent in their resignation letters,” he added.

Interested in their own cronies

Last Saturday, Roslan led 312 party members including division assistant treasurer Diong Chong Mee, several committee members and its Youth chief Shahul Hameed Abu Kadeer, in quitting the party, citing loss of confidence in PKR.

Roslan lamented about “unfulfilled promises, internal squabblings” and accused the party’s leadership of only being interested in their own cronies.

The press conference held in Penang was attended by Boo Chang and Umno Bayan Baru division chief Abdul Rahim Saibu, and the group did not rule out the possibility of joining BN.

“We will be joining a new NGO - Pertubuhan Kebajikan Sahabat Islam Pulau Pinang,” he told reporters, claiming they were Barisan Nasional-friendly.

Meanwhile, the Penang PKR leadership will decide on Boo Chang’s replacement come Jan 7, noted Gurdial.

On whether the party would continue to accept members who quit BN component parties, Gurdial said this has yet to become the party’s policy.

“What we have now is that those from other (BN) parties who wish to join PKR would have to participate as ordinary members, and would not be given high positions straight away,” he added.

Second legal notice

NONE In a related development, Boo Chang (right) has issued a second legal notice to Komtar assemblyperson Ng Wei Aik for allegedly defaming him again in a Nanyang Siang Pau report on Dec 20 headlined ‘Being Accused: Only Have Frog Character and No Human Character’.

The first legal notice was issued last Monday, when Ng was asked to retract and apologise for describing Boo Chang as a frog, when the latter criticised DAP’s style of leadership in the state government.

Boo Chang has also cited a report in Malaysiakini headlined ‘Ng given 24 hours to apologise over frog remarks’, for issuing the notice, where the state representative queried about a frog’s ability to engage a lawyer to issue a legal letter.

“Ng had been persistently unwilling to respond directly as to whether he had already received Boo Chang’s letter, and how to deal with it, instead he only repeatedly questioned how can a frog engage a lawyer to issue a legal letter,” said Boo Chang's lawyers in the notice.

Boo Chang reiterated that Ng’s remarks was “slander on his character, as it was deliberately made and maliciously intended to harm his reputation by lowering his image and status in the esteem of the public”.

Since Ng’s remarks are “completely unfounded and are so serious in character”, Boo Chang said he has no alternative but to institute legal proceedings for slander against the assemblyperson, who is also Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s political secretary.