No five-star Ritz for rocket: DAP MP claps back at PKR MP

Summary

• DAP MP Wong Shu Qi reminds PKR’s Wong Chen that her party’s national congress was held at a convention centre, and not the five-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

• She says, “When the kitchen gets hot, the fire extinguisher should not be aimed at neighbours.”

DAP lawmaker Wong Shu Qi has taken aim at PKR’s Wong Chen for dragging her party into his critique of money politics, after he lamented how former opposition parties are now hosting events in hotels.

The Kluang MP pointed out that DAP’s national congress on March 16 was held at the Ideal Convention Centre in Shah Alam.

“Not exactly the Ritz,” she quipped, lacing her comment with sarcasm.

“Unless there’s a new five-star rating for convention centres I’m unaware of, I’m not sure where the ‘hotel event’ claim came from,” she added in a Facebook post.

According to her, some things remained the same in DAP, where its elected representatives still contributed 15 percent of their monthly allowance to the party.

“That’s how we keep the lights on at HQ - just old-school commitment,” she added.

Referencing the upcoming PKR central leadership elections, Shu Qi conceded that polls tend to raise the temperature but cautioned against “aiming the fire extinguisher at neighbours when the kitchen gets hot”.

“Elections are intense, we get it. But as friends in the same coalition, we’d prefer not to be caught in friendly fire when we’re just minding our own business,” she added.

‘Money politics has surfaced’

Yesterday, Malaysiakini quoted Chen lamenting that former opposition parties, now in government, seem to have “lost their roots” and succumbed to money politics.

The Subang MP pointed to a “rotten political culture” emerging in recent Pakatan Harapan party polls, noting that PKR, once known for its shoestring operations, has clearly drifted from its humble origins.

“We have a rotten political culture, and money politics has surfaced, as you can see during the election period for DAP and PKR.

“Back in the old days when I first joined PKR, we would hold our ceramahs at a pondok (shack) or in a coffee shop. Nowadays, it’s being done in hotels.

“Where does all this money come from? I don’t know. My money is enough to support my family, (but) not my political career,” Wong added.

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