Former Teratai assemblyperson Jenice Lee has vowed to contest in the upcoming Selangor DAP committee election because she insist that she is still a DAP member, although her membership is no longer recognised by the party.

At a press conference today, Lee said that her appeal is still pending with the party's central executive committee (CEC) and she has yet to receive any correspondence on her expulsion from the party.

In view of this, Lee said that she has the right to take part in the election that is slated for Dec 15.

Although she admits that her chances of winning a seat in the committee were low, she pointed out that she garnered the most number of votes during the last election, which was evidence of her grassroots appeal.

"(Whether I am elected to the state committee) is not an issue. Previously, I was elected with the highest number of votes, and I have done nothing wrong (since)," she said.

During the 13th general election in May, DAP chose not to field Lee, the incumbent Teratai state assemblyperson. She was replaced by an outsider, prompting her to defend her seat as an incumbent. Lee was trounced at the polls and lost her deposit.

She was later sacked for breaching party rules by standing as an independent. The decision, along with the sacking of 36 others, were upheld by the party by CEC that was elected on Sept 29.

Trio wants Tan to resign

Lee had filed a suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday seeking a declaration that she is still a member of the party and her expulsion was invalid.

Also present at the press conference were sacked party members A David Dass and Fong Pau Teck. The trio are urging the resignation of DAP deputy chairperson and disciplinary committee chief Tan Kok Wai.

Lee accused Tan of acting unprofessionally, practiced double standards and was irresponsible. She said that Tan should resign to show that DAP's accountability.

She said according to the party constitution, members can appeal against its disciplinary committee's decisions with the CEC, but Tan is both the disciplinary committee chairperson and the party deputy chairperson, making him the third most powerful person in the CEC.

"In this situation, even if there is an appeal, who else besides the chairperson and the secretary-general would dare speak out against the disciplinary committee decisions?" she asked.

She pointed out that there is a conflict of interest in having Tan hold both positions and this has caused discontent amongst party members.

Pujut rep might join PKR

Meanwhile, Fong, the Pujut state assemblyperson sacked last month for not paying his monthly contribution to the party, said a major source of trouble in DAP is its move to sack members on a whim and Tan is part of the problem.

"If he continues to hold the position as disciplinary committee chairperson, there will be continued turmoil in DAP," he said.

He said he had he is unhappy with the issue but his written complaints went unheeded, thus he stopped paying the contributions as a sign of protest.

Party assistant organising secretary then helped to mediate the dispute, he said, and he agreed to resume the payments. However, he was sacked soon after.

He said that although he has appealed to the CEC, he is not optimistic. He pledged to continue serving as an independent assemblyperson and does not rule out the possibility of joining PKR.

"Many parties are inviting me. Frankly, a capable person never needs to fear (of not having a place)," he said.

Meanwhile, David also expressed dissatisfaction over the sackings, stating that it is not in accordance to procedure and blamed Tan for the situation.

He had received a letter on Oct 7 from Tan informing that he had been sacked in accordance to a letter dated July 2.

David is the former vice-chairperson of the Ladang Paroi DAP branch, and was sacked for supposedly slandering party leaders through the media, including allegations of electoral fraud in the Dec 2012 CEC election.

'Tan wearing too many hats'

However, he insisted that he did not receive the July 2 letter and claims that the disciplinary committee did not back its accusations with evidence.

"Since Tan is in this position (as disciplinary committee chairperson), he should be professional and not simply sack people when he is unhappy," he said.

When contacted, Tan said there is no reason for him to resign. He added that Lee has called for his resignation "no less than a hundred times".

"She can make any accusation and I can accept any criticism. No problems," he said.

He insists that the CEC has already rejected Lee's appeal and thus he is ineligible to take part in the state party election.

He also denied that the party did not inform Lee of her sacking in writing.

"We never failed to send the letter while she never failed to claim that she did not receive the letter," he said.

As for Fong's appeal, he said a decision will be made in the next CEC meeting.