Malaysia’s ruling coalition loses a fourth MP from PM Anwar Ibrahim’s party

PETALING JAYA – Petaling Jaya Member of Parliament Lee Chean Chung is the latest elected politician from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s party to quit, with immediate effect.He announced the decision during a press conference on Oct 2 and said he will issue his resignation letter as a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) member on Oct 5.“On Sept 30, I received the decision that my membership has been suspended for three years and that I have received the black and white for that.“As such, I have made the decision to resign (as the Petaling Jaya MP) without any conditions,” the 45-year-old said during the press conference.He also said he met Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul on Oct 1 to inform him of the matter.Lee also cited several issues he had championed, including the Urban Renewal Act, the monopoly in Malaysia’s foreign worker management system, as well as the Sales and Service Tax (SST), as possible reasons for his suspension.There had previously been rumours that PKR was set to suspend him from the party for three years to prevent Bersama, the party launched by former PKR members Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, from automatically gaining an MP.In August, three-term lawmaker Wong Chen also left PKR to join Bersama and Lee’s move makes him the fourth to quit.It was also reported that the decision to suspend him was due to growing unhappiness among grassroots members in the Petaling Jaya division following his involvement in Bersama’s events, despite him still being a PKR member.PKR and the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party are key components of Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition, which has been under increasing pressure after a string of state election setbacks.Lee had in June already resigned as a member of PKR’s central leadership council.He has hinted that he intends to remain in Petaling Jaya for the next general election but has not indicated if he would join Bersama.“I want to stay in PJ,” he said when asked if he would contest the same parliamentary seat for the 16th General Election.Pressed on whether this meant he would join Bersama, Lee said he had already made his decision but stopped short of revealing it.“But I am sure all of you probably have a good idea of where I am going to go,” he added.He also said he was increasingly confused about the government’s direction and questioned whether being a unity government justified compromises, particularly after convicted former prime minister Najib Razak was allowed conditional house arrest without a full explanation, subject to payment of a RM50 million (S$15.6 million) fine.He said PKR was the first political party he joined, leaving a corporate career to devote much of his youth to the political struggle as he believes that politics should be used to defend those treated unfairly.He said that from 2008 to 2022, he endured political pressure, took to the streets over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, was charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, and appeared in court repeatedly.“I have never regretted it. I am grateful to PKR for the opportunities over the past 18 years and to my comrades who still believe in clean politics, institutional reform and a Malaysia that celebrates diversity.“But because so many Malaysians once supported this struggle without asking for anything in return, I cannot continue to find excuses to defend things I myself can no longer defend,” he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK