Haunted by the letterhead spectre

By JOCELINE TAN

DAP warlord Ronnie Liu has survived the cronyism episode in Selangor but will things ever be the same again for him?

THE worst may be over for DAP’s embattled Ronnie Liu. The Selangor DAP warlord has been through some of the most terrible weeks of his political career since the letterhead scandal exploded in his face.

The politician whom the Chinese media reporters call “sky ball” - his Chinese name Tian Khiew sounds like sky ball in Hokkien – has sort of crashed down to earth.

Liu, 52, has tried to present a brave front but the issue has taken a toll on him. He has lost weight and his receding hairline seems more pronounced than ever.

And the press has been hounding him. Politicians love seeing their pictures in the papers except when they are in hot water. And for the last few weeks, Liu has been making news for all the wrong reasons.

Hard fall: The Ronnie Liu issue has dented the party’s image as a crusader against corruption and cronyism. Liu (second from right) is seen here with his assistant Daniel Chong (right) on the day he lodged a police report over the letterhead issue

He has taken a lot of hits in his long years in politics but this has been the hardest of them all. As they say, the higher you go, the harder the fall,

But he may be dropping out of the public eye for a while because he is preparing to go on three weeks’ leave. The break will allow him to take a breather and the issue to cool down.

DAP leaders used to complain that Malaysians have short memories but they are now banking on that very same short attention span to work in their favour.

Liu’s party people are hoping the media will move on to new issues and that the dark cloud hanging over him will dissipate so that he can return and carry on with his job.

Public opinion about Liu’s role in the letterhead issue has been negative to the party. The Internet chatter, which has always been quite rosy about the DAP, has not spared Liu. Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi was not exaggerating when he said the party could not ignore cyber opinion that had helped sweep the party to power two years ago.

Teng: The Sungai Pinang assemblyman’s influence in Selangor is on the rise.

But it is clear that the DAP leadership wants Liu to continue as an executive councillor in the Selangor government.

Liu has survived the scandal but can things ever be the same again for him?

Yes, according to his ally, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who said Liu had not done anything illegal in lending his name to the support letters that brought down former Klang councillor Tee Boon Hock.

Liu, he said, was not involved in a conflict of interest situation; unlike Tee or the other DAP man from Pandamaran who issued a support letter in favour of his own contracting firm.

Put this way, it does seem as though Liu is a victim in the whole sorry episode.

But his detractors see him as the manipulator who was caught out by his own actions. They claimed he was out to fix Tee who was planning to shift his ground support to a rival faction in the coming DAP state election. Instead Liu fell on his own sword.

Lim: The DAP secretary-general’s silence has been read as support for Liu

A great deal of what is happening in the DAP in recent months has to do with the coming party election. It is expected to be the most keenly fought in the DAP’s history because people in the party believe they are on the way to Putrajaya.

The main players are trying to leverage a place in the state line-up because whoever controls the party at state level will determine the selection of candidates for the general election as well as positions of power if Pakatan Rakyat wins.

Hence, the degree of rivalry in places where DAP has a presence, namely Selangor, Perak, Federal Territory and Penang.

The rivalry in Selangor is more pronounced because of the two reigning warlords, Liu and Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim of the “OMG real culprit let off” fame.

Everyone knows Liu is the ma cai (pony or runner) of secretary-general Lim Guan Eng. In Hokkien-speaking Penang, he is known as “Guan Eng eh beh” (Guan Eng’s horse).

He was the one with the muscles in Selangor until hit by the letterhead issue. Or as the joke among the lawyers in DAP goes: Ronnie holds a watching brief for Guan Eng in Selangor.

But factional politics aside, the question to be asked is, if Liu had not committed any legal wrong, why then is public opinion so unfavourable towards him?

One reason is that Liu has been dogged by all sorts of alleged links with the underworld from the start. The perception has not gone away despite repeated denials.

To compound matters, he used to be partial to dark suits with black shirts and light coloured ties that made him look like a character in a mafia movie. But he has since graduated to more business-like white shirts.

Of greater concern to party members is the way the issue has dented the party’s moral voice on issues of corruption, abuse of power and cronyism. These issues have been the party’s mainstay among the Chinese middle class and professionals.

One Penang DAP politician who has been making the rounds at the nightly Hungry ghost festival gatherings used to poke fun at how Barisan people “toon” (Hokkien for swallow) while DAP people “poon” (share).

“It is awkward to make such jokes now,” he said.

Damage to image

That is how the Ronnie Liu episode has hurt the DAP – it has taken the party down a notch or two from its moral high ground.

Some DAP leaders in Selangor have likened its impact to the Datuk Zakaria Deros issue which was one of the chief reasons for the Chinese revolt against Barisan Nasional in the state.

The comparison may seem rather drastic but this is a party that has been very righteous and exacting about corruption and cronyism.

Tunku Abdul Aziz: ‘If you cannot take the heat, get out of the kitchen.’

As the party’s vice-chairman Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim said: “It’s important that those of us who hold public office behave in a way consistent with good governance. We cannot be ambivalent about corruption. If you cannot take the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

No less than the party’s life advisor Dr Chen Man Hin has asked Liu to search his conscience and do the right thing.

Now 85, Dr Chen’s feelings are quite understandable. He had celebrated his 80th birthday in 2004 with an eight-tier cake decorated with Chinese peaches symbolising longevity and topped with a red rocket that almost touched the ceiling of the banquet hall.

The Who’s Who of DAP were there, and the grand old birthday boy probably thought he would not live to see his party in government. But miracles do happen and he did. It explains his indignation that this could happen just two years into power.

Dr Chen’s stand resonates with many in the party although no one else has been as forthright in asking Liu to go.

At the same time, few have come out to defend Liu and that is very telling.

“I’d say the party’s reaction has been more about damage control than anything else. Some of these leaders have found it hard to pass the test of power,” said academic Wong Chin Huat.

The most profound silence has been on the part of the party secretary-general who has broken a record of sorts by not making a single comment related to the issue.

Some of his party people say he is a good football player; he has been passing the ball to party chairman Karpal Singh who has been the main spokesman on the matter.

Silence is telling

Instead of sending out a clear signal against cronyism and abuse of power, he has instead preferred to make populist announcements like abolishing the saman ekor and providing free wireless connections if Pakatan comes to power.

“Silence is golden, but not in this instance,” said one senior DAP figure.

His silence has been a talking point: Where does Guan Eng stand on this? Is he not concerned about its impact on the party’s image? Or does his loyalty to his ma cai override other things?

The perception is that Liu is still very much in Guan Eng’s inner circle. Guan Eng needs Liu to check Teng’s influence in Selangor.

The current Selangor DAP chairman Ean Yong Hian Wah is a Guan Eng loyalist but Ean Yong is a bit of a softie. The Chinese media had once compared his political style to that of a “boy scout”.

So Liu’s survival may also have to do with political expediency.

Liu had tested the water when he issued an open letter shortly after his “severe reprimand”. The letter began on a humble and sentimental note about how, when he wakes up these days, “I wish things were different” and about wanting to build a new Malaysia.

But the letter quickly went on to blame everyone else but himself – he blamed the little Napoleans in government, the hostile civil servant environment, Tee Boon Hock, lack of communication in Pakatan and the mainstream media.

The Chinese vernacular press did not appreciate his blame game and came down hard on him. Liu’s timing and EQ seem to be completely off these days.

It will be interesting to see whether he can actually manage a come-back because many in the DAP are not only unhappy with the way the issue has been handled, they are also concerned that Liu’s continued presence will hurt the party.

There are many decent and idealistic people in the party who have pointed out how DAP had promised to bring about a new kind of politics. But given what has happened, it looks like the party is delivering more of the same.