Teng laments Chow's fate, says only 'insiders' know his successor

It is unfortunate and pitiful for a long-serving leader like Chow Kon Yeow to be put in a difficult position, according to former DAP central committee member Teng Chang Khim.

Commenting on Chow’s decision not to seek re-election in the upcoming Penang DAP party polls, Teng said Chow (above) would become a “lame duck” chief minister of the state after losing his party leadership role.

“In the future, he will have no real position in the party’s state structure. I think this is actually quite a sad situation because he has been a central committee member and state chairperson for decades.

“To announce that he will not run in such a situation is very embarrassing and pitiful. Why can’t the party allow these long-serving and well-known leaders and heads of government step down gracefully?” he told Malaysiakini yesterday.

He noted that many leaders within the party had been compelled to step down in the past or even forced out of the party, and Chow’s predicament is an unfortunate continuation of this legacy.

Teng was speaking during an interview for a Malaysiakini Chinese-language podcast, which was aired via YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts yesterday.

‘Chow didn’t think things through’

He said he was not surprised by Chow’s announcement but was taken aback by its timing just before the Penang DAP’s election.

“Why did he choose this time? I was a bit surprised. The way I see it, he definitely did not have enough time to think about it; he did not think about this issue beforehand. To me, this is an unfortunate situation,” he said.

He also described Chow as a politician who is not particularly skilled or interested in political manoeuvring despite having been in politics for a long time.

“He just followed the party’s arrangements and became chief minister. Within the party, his successor is not up to him to decide, and that’s why he’s in this situation.”

According to Teng, Chow’s power had already been diminished after last year's state election, which left him with few supporters remaining in the state executive council.

He believed that Chow should have announced his decision not to participate in the upcoming Penang party polls much earlier.

“This is what I find very strange. So, I would say he did not do much mental preparation in this regard; he did not make a complete plan. He didn’t plan at all, and it wasn’t his place to plan either.

“Chow might just be someone without much scheming. So in this situation, I believe there may have been forces that pressured him to make this announcement at this time to prevent the situation from worsening,” he said.

He speculated that this internal pressure may be due to public backlash against Chow’s policies, which could be unfavourable to the “other side”, and ultimately forced Chow to withdraw from the party election in an attempt to calm the state of affairs.

Teng did not specify who the “other side” is but mentioned Chow had faced many public attacks and pressure within the party over the past two years.

Despite Chow’s attempts to calm the situation with his announcement and repeated assurances by DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, Teng feels Chow might not be able to stay in his chief minister post long enough to finish his term.

“At a certain time when it is appropriate, he may be asked to step down early, with the reason this would give his successor time to prepare and lead until the next election.”

Not up to Chow to decide successor

As for the upcoming party state election on Sept 22, Teng believes Chow’s withdrawal means its outcome is a foregone conclusion.

“But who will be the state chairperson, I don’t know. Only people in the inner circle know, we don’t know. We can only wait and see.”

Recent reports in the Chinese-language media speculated that after Chow steps down on Sept 22, the next Penang DAP chairperson could be Human Resources Minister Steven Sim or Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying.

Hui Ying is the sister of DAP chairperson and former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, which fuelled speculation about Guan Eng’s influence behind the scenes.

In response to these speculations, Teng opposed any form of nepotism within the party and urged Loke and the party’s central leadership to guarantee that the Penang state constitution is respected.

The constitution stipulates that anyone who has served two terms as chief minister is ineligible for reappointment.

Teng added that Sim and Hui Ying have no experience in administering Penang, so the existing state executive councillors are a more suitable pick to be the next chief minister.

He proposed that the best candidates are state exco members Wong Hon Wai and S Sundarajoo, especially given Sundarajoo’s extensive corporate experience and demonstrated strong capabilities in handling economic and administrative matters.

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