Interview with Malaysian Digest

Malaysian Digest: What are some of the most common problems faced by the people in your constituency?

Teresa Kok: Bad condition of roads is a major headache for the residents and traders in the past one to two years. If you visit my blog you would see examples of that. Although I have done as much as I can to get some roads repaired by Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL) – as well as used my own money to get other roads in the area fixed because of DBKL’s irresponsibility – there is still much more that needs to be done.

“Overdevelopment” is another issue in my constituency. DBKL has been approving many high-rise buildings with total disregard to traffic jams in the area and despite protest from the residents.

The plot-ratio allowed by DBKL is much higher than Selangor. DBKL continues to approve projects without considering transportation problems faced by the residents in the area. Many residential areas in Seputeh constituency don’t have public transports. There are no LRT lines or public buses. People are forced to own cars in order to go to work. I have voiced this serious issue in Parliament many times, but they are like falling on deaf ears.

There are also too many supermarkets in my constituency and they have killed the petty traders and hawkers in morning markets. Many of them are unable to compete with all these giant operators and were forced to close down their businesses.

Too many traffic summons are being issued by both DBKL and police in the commercial areas. They have affected the business of the restaurants and shops a lot.

MD: What have you done to help resolve these problems?

TK: I have raised all these issues in Parliament in the past few years. You can read all my speeches in my blog. I also helped constituents to organize peaceful protests against the DBKL when it fails to carry out its responsibilities – especially after months and months of reminders via calls, letters from me to DBKL.

Besides, my service center has been actively helping to resolve their day-to-day problems. On top of that, my staff also have helped to register residents in the Skim Warga Usia Emas (SMUE) that was introduced by the state government. Ever since Selangor introduced “Jom Shopping” for the SMUE senior citizens, my service center has been actively organizing the senior citizens and their family members to go for shopping, and I took the opportunity to reach out to the people and listen to their complaints.

There are also times when I and/or my Seputeh service center reach out to members of the community who are less fortunate, victims in cases of damage during fires and floods.

There are other ‘simple’ yet pressing issues which I have helped out with, for example, when there was a major drain clog in Salak South and, of course DBKL and Alam Flora were slow to react, I pressured them over and over until it was finally sorted out.

The list is endless. I would recommend browsing through my blog for some examples – do a ‘Seputeh’ search in the ‘categories’ link.

Will you be defending the Seputeh parliament seat in the next General Election?

I would like to and I hope so, as I have developed a strong bond with the constituency having been the MP there for three terms now. Since 1999 we have accumulated much shared experiences and fought many battles together to improve the area despite the lack of cooperation from DBKL and the federal government.

However, the party leadership will have to look at elections strategy and decide on candidates. In the party, we practice collective leadership.

You recorded a landslide victory in the last General Election. Do you think you can match your performance in 2008?

The size of the victory in 2008 was a surprise for me. Whether I maintain that lofty majority or not is left to be seen as I have not been named as the candidate yet. The people of Seputeh will be deciding what they want for the future given there may be a chance Pakatan may win federal power. They are not deciding whether they will continue to elect me as their MP, but to decide what they want for Malaysia.

Pakatan have been criticized for not being able to take criticisms. What’s your response on this?

I am always willing to take constructive criticisms if the remarks are correct and fair. However, when such criticism is not based on proper investigation and full information, and just designed for attention-seeking, I will not react to it.

You see, Pakatan leaders have to work doubly-hard to carry out our duties because of the resistance we get from government bodies and the federal institution. So when our sweat and tears bear results that benefit the people (especially in the state we govern), and we still get condemned for “not delivering” or being “not much better than BN”, I guess it is within our human nature to show frustration and disappointment at these often baseless criticisms.

Let’s be frank, the mainstream media has not been fair to us. There are many half-truths and distortion in the mainstream media and they hardly publish reports or comments that are too critical of BN and its components.

I can safely say the Pakatan-led states have not resorted to harassing its ‘critics’ among the rakyat.

Do you think the Debate between Lim Guan Eng and Chua Soi Lek last weekend is something that benefits the Malaysian Chinese? Should political debates be encouraged in Malaysia?

It benefits all Malaysians – not just the Chinese. Yes, language-wise it was not in Bahasa or English but the content of the debate (which was carried out in Malay and English media/portals thereafter) would benefit the rakyat in various ways, especially in understanding how and what politicians think and say. It raises questions, it gets people thinking.

Yes, debates are pivotal in any democratic society. I do hope that there will be more healthy debates in future.

How do you see the role of women in Malaysian politics?

Looking at it as it is – better than before but not as prominent as it should be. We are moving forward in terms of gender equality but the pace could be faster. Women in politics (and in Malaysia in general) are not respected enough. There are still many male politicians – especially from BN – who are sexist and chauvinistic.

Women can make very good wakil rakyat. Women reps are more hardworking, have better soft skills and can engage with people better. So, I guess the more women in politics, the more work gets done, the more issues attended to and the more productive the government can be.

It is also interesting to note here that in Selangor, among the 10 Exco members, there are four women representatives. This is 40 percent – the highest among all states in Malaysia, and I think we have performed our role so far.

– mD