S'wak DAP chief shocked Padungan rep quit without informing him

• UPDATED 8:00PM | This story has been updated to include Chong's comments.

Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen has expressed shock and disappointment at the sudden resignation of Padungan state assemblyperson Wong King Wei, who quit the party yesterday.

"Whatever misunderstanding and disagreement amongst members in the party, it is surely not a valid reason for quitting the party as the political struggle of DAP remains unwavering and unchanged at all times, ie to fight corruption and to restore a clean and fair system of administration in Malaysia and in Sarawak for the betterment of the people," Chong (above) said in a statement today.

The Stampin MP said that it was sad to see a leader turning against the party and inflicting damage to an organisation he had represented for years.

"More so, Wong was my special assistant for many years until he was first elected as the Padungan assemblyperson in 2011 under the DAP ticket.

"Like all my other special assistants, he had a free hand in carrying out his political work and issuing statements according to his own style and preference.

"For a decision of such gravity, I would have thought that he would first communicate his wish to me and discuss it beforehand but regrettably, that was not the case," Chong said. 

He added that he hopes Wong will reconsider his decision to quit the party and not disappoint the voters who chose him to represent Padungan.

Aide weighs in

Earlier, Michael Kong Feng Nian (below), Chong's political aide who was named in Wong's resignation statement, had spoken up to deny some of the latter's claims.

"It was surprising that I was named in Wong's announcement. There was an implied comment that my Facebook post on July 21 was devised by DAP leaders which is totally untrue.

"All statements that I post on my Facebook page are written by me. To suggest otherwise is totally inaccurate and casts unnecessary aspersions that I am merely a pawn for others' doing. I will never allow myself to be one," he said in a separate statement.

In addition to being issued on his social media account, Kong's opinion was published in the party organ The Rocket on July 22.

Chong's special assistant said he had known Wong for a little over three years during which they were co-counsels in a few legal matters.

"Our working experiences were always enjoyable because regardless of our differences in age and work experience, we could speak our mind freely," he added.

Yesterday, Wong announced that he had declined the party's renomination of him to defend his state seat and was relinquishing his position as the Sarawak DAP vice-chief as he was leaving the party.

Wong said he was disillusioned with the party's confrontational methods and said that politics was not just about launching attacks.

"When the DAP was in the opposition, we did that a lot. When the DAP became part of the ruling coalition, we still did what we used to do. 

"The politics of Sarawak is in need of some positivity in order to see the state moving forward," he added.

Wong (above) had also expressed disapproval at Kong's broadside against Sarawak Federation of Chinese Association president Richard Wee for stating that the urban Chinese was more likely to back the ruling GPS in the upcoming state polls.

"It is unbelievable that party leaders could not take such comments and Kong has to resort to launching personal attacks against Wee.

"In my opinion, Wee was only giving his comment about the political scenario, he did not appeal to voters to vote for GPS," Wong had said.

In response to this, Kong said he was merely stating his personal opinion and at no time did he tell Wee to stop criticising Pakatan Harapan and/or praise GPS.

"In fact, I reemphasised that DAP (and especially me) respects the freedom of speech under the Federal Constitution but that any hint of inclination or possible bias must be laid out to avoid any misunderstandings or misconceptions by the public.

"This is in particular to community leaders such as Wee," added Kong, who nonetheless went on to thank Wong for what he had done for the people in Padungan.

"As a fellow who dearly loves Sarawak, I believe we both will agree that GPS is not the way forward," he said. 

Kong also drew attention to the fact that Wong had not challenged the party's principles but its method of execution.

Earlier this month, Wong had pointed out that the party had again set itself on a collision course with PKR when its Kuching youth wing demanded to contest the Batu Lintang seat in the next Sarawak election.

The seat was won by PKR's See Chee How (above) who had since defected to Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).

"Why are you doing this to an ally of yours? Why can't you just sit down with your ally and sort it out among yourselves?" said Wong.

"If DAP cannot even take comments that are not in favour of them and has to resort to personal attacks, the party should be worried about where it is heading," he had said, adding that he was growing sick of such politics.

Amanah and DAP nudge PKR on 'way forward' to retake Putrajaya

DAP rep’s quit decision surprising but a food for thought - SUPP president

Padungan rep quits DAP, criticises party's confrontational methods

DAP pledges help for rep who exposed 'enticements to defect'