After winning in GE13 in 2013, Tiew (centre) was replaced the following term.
THE Teratai seat in Selangor has seen four assemblymen over the past four election terms.
It has not had an incumbent assemblyman since the state constituency was created in 2003, a situation that some voters feel is detrimental in the long run.
Lai won the Teratai seat in GE14 in 2018 but left DAP in 2021.
The seat, in the Pandan parliamentary constituency, was won by Gerakan’s Yap Soo Sun during the 11th General Election (GE11) in 2004, but has been held by DAP since GE12 in 2008.
A voter, who wanted to be known only as Lam, 57, said that having someone “parachute” in from elsewhere meant the candidate would need to learn the issues from scratch.
Lam, who operates a stall in Taman Muda commercial area, said each election season had seen candidates visiting the area to get to know the traders.
“Each time, we see the incumbent having some issues and end up being dropped by their party.
“When a new one comes in, he or she takes at least one or two years to get to know the place.
“There is also no continuation in the policies they plan to introduce here,” she said.
Yew was previously an Ampang Jaya municipal councillor.
Pandan Perdana resident Vince Liew, 34, said he felt that the area had become stagnant over the last few years.
“It doesn’t seem like there has been much interest in bringing development or new initiatives into the area.
“If politicians do not stick around to see programmes or plans through, the place will get worse,” he added.
Several terms have seen DAP fielding candidates from outside Teratai, including from Kajang and Petaling Jaya.
In GE12, the seat was won by DAP’s Jenice Lee with a majority of 8,085 votes against Lum Weng Keong (Barisan Nasional-Gerakan).
However, Lee was dropped for GE13 in 2013 after falling out with the party leadership, and she went on to contest as an Independent candidate that year. She is currently with Parti Rakyat Malaysia.
In GE13, DAP fielded Petaling Jaya City Council councillor Tiew Way Keng who won by a 13,646 vote-majority against Gerakan’s Liew Pok Boon, Lee and two other Independent candidates.
Tiew also did not survive beyond the first term and was subsequently replaced by Kajang Municipal Council councillor Bryan Lai, who won 2018’s GE14 with 34,453 votes.
However, in 2021, Lai resigned from DAP after being accused of marital infidelity.
Lee won the Teratai seat in GE12 but was dropped for GE13.
He had said then that he was quitting the party to protect its image.
After serving as an Independent assemblyman for several months, he joined Parti Warisan.
For this year’s state elections, DAP is fielding 45-year-old Yew Jia Haur, who is in a straight fight against Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Chew Han Keai.
Asked to comment on the lack of incumbent candidates, Yew said if elected, he would bank on his service to the people to take him beyond the first term.
“There were many factors that came into play for previous state representatives who were not retained, either for political or personal reasons.
“Regardless, my focus will be on resolving as many issues as I can in the time that I have here.
“If I were to be replaced (after being elected), I would accept it,” he said when asked about the matter at the launch of his operations centre in Taman Muda, Ampang.
Yew said his two years as an Ampang Jaya municipal councillor meant that he was already familiar with issues on the ground in Teratai.
He was also a Selayang Municipal Council councillor from 2013 to 2018, and currently holds the post of Federal Territories DAP public complaints bureau chairman.
Teratai has 79,579 registered voters with 49,039 Chinese (61.62%), 21,190 Malays (26.63%), 6,489 Indians (8.159%), and 2,857 others (3.59%).
