GEORGE TOWN (May 9): Barely two days after he had expressed his intention, the DAP's Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu has withdrawn his private member's motion in the Penang State Assembly for the setting up of a committee to help transgender people with an allocation of RM200,000.
The withdrawal was announced by chief minister and DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng in a statement today.
Lim said Teh's latest decision was based on requests by DAP's assembly members and MPs in Penang during a meeting held at Komtar at 2pm today.
"Teh is also aware that for the motion to be debated, he needs a seconder. But there is not a single PR (Pakatan Rakyat) assembly member in Penang ready to support his motion," Lim said.
"This issue has been heatedly manipulated by the mass media controlled by BN in order to criticise the DAP's party stand, although this is not the party's stand but only a personal view of a DAP assemblyman."
"Unfortunately, my statement that the motion is not that of the Penang PR government or that of the DAP but purely a personal one by Teh as an assemblyman has not been aired in the BN media at all," he said.
Teh had two days ago announced that he would table a motion to push for the setting up of a transgender committee motion in the coming state legislative assembly. He had said the state government's lack of enthusiasm for the matter, which he had brought up last year, spurred his decision to table a Private Member's Bill in the upcoming sitting.
However, based on the advice of Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang recently, he later decided to table a motion on the issue instead.
He had also lamented that the state executive council had verbally rejected his application to set up a transgender committee without any formal explanation.
Lim today reiterated that he would work to ask Teh to return to base and operate as a team with the DAP by withdrawing his motion.
He added that with the withdrawal, the issue is considered closed and Teh abides with the "unanimous decision" of the party leadership and legislative members in Penang.
FZ
Promoting Thinking Minds Via Rational Rationale
Showing posts with label transgender. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transgender. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 May 2014
Thursday, 8 May 2014
Penang govt keeps transgender issue at arm’s length
GEORGE TOWN: The DAP-helmed Penang government is seen to have distanced itself from a state backbencher on the transgender issue.
DAP’s Tanjung Bungah state representative Teh Yee Cheu announced yesterday that he would propose a motion at the next assembly sitting starting on May 19 to set up a transgender institute in Penang.
But Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng revealed today that Teh was moving ahead with the transgender motion without the consent of his Pakatan Rakyat state administration.
Lim, who is also the DAP secretary-general acknowledged that Teh had all the right to propose his motion as an assemblyman.
But, Lim stressed that the motion would be Teh’s and not of his government.
Lim hinted that the backbencher would be on his own on the subject matter unless he discussed it with the state government.
“We will talk to him and see whether he will be willing to come back as a team in this issue,” Lim told newsmen at the sidelines of a groundbreaking ceremony to upgrade Padang Brown food complex
Teh has expressed hopes that the state government would allow for him to table the motion on a proposal to set up a RM200,000 transgender institute in Penang.
Teh said he had not received any feedback since proposing it to the state government in 2010.
The DAP state committee member said that a study by Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2001 revealed that Penang already had 20,000 transgender persons then.
Last year, Teh hired a transgender to be his assistant.
When contacted today, Teh declined to comment on Lim’s remarks, saying that he would respond in due time.
On another note, Teh also slammed PAS for attempting to implement hudud law in the country, questioning the Islamist party’s motive and agenda on an issue that contravenes the constitution.
“PAS’ so called aims to form a welfare based country is questionable as the law could be wrongly used by politicians and abuse their power in influencing people’s beliefs to maintain their power,” said Teh.
FMT
DAP’s Tanjung Bungah state representative Teh Yee Cheu announced yesterday that he would propose a motion at the next assembly sitting starting on May 19 to set up a transgender institute in Penang.
But Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng revealed today that Teh was moving ahead with the transgender motion without the consent of his Pakatan Rakyat state administration.
Lim, who is also the DAP secretary-general acknowledged that Teh had all the right to propose his motion as an assemblyman.
But, Lim stressed that the motion would be Teh’s and not of his government.
Lim hinted that the backbencher would be on his own on the subject matter unless he discussed it with the state government.
“We will talk to him and see whether he will be willing to come back as a team in this issue,” Lim told newsmen at the sidelines of a groundbreaking ceremony to upgrade Padang Brown food complex
Teh has expressed hopes that the state government would allow for him to table the motion on a proposal to set up a RM200,000 transgender institute in Penang.
Teh said he had not received any feedback since proposing it to the state government in 2010.
The DAP state committee member said that a study by Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2001 revealed that Penang already had 20,000 transgender persons then.
Last year, Teh hired a transgender to be his assistant.
When contacted today, Teh declined to comment on Lim’s remarks, saying that he would respond in due time.
On another note, Teh also slammed PAS for attempting to implement hudud law in the country, questioning the Islamist party’s motive and agenda on an issue that contravenes the constitution.
“PAS’ so called aims to form a welfare based country is questionable as the law could be wrongly used by politicians and abuse their power in influencing people’s beliefs to maintain their power,” said Teh.
FMT
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