DAP welcomes new 'transformer'

From Malaysiakini.com

Beh Lih Yi Jul 31, 07 5:23pm

Opposition party DAP today officially welcomed a new 'transformer' into its 'family of transformers'. Although secretary-general Lim Guan Eng did not specify if DAP is made up of 'Autobots' or 'Decepticons', he nevertheless said prominent blogger Jeff Ooi's decision to join the party will serve as a catalyst for other 'transformers' to trudge in his footsteps. Lim said this during his speech at a tea party held in Petaling Jaya this morning to welcome Ooi into the party. Later, he told reporters in response to a question that Ooi did not join the party because he was promised a seat in the coming elections. "Ooi is genuine in joining DAP, he joins without any condition (but) we will definitely place him into consideration for a parliamentary seat," he said, describing Ooi as a 'qualified' candidate. Party sources have claimed that Ooi might contest in either the Kelana Jaya or Serdang parliamentary constituencies. Asked on whether it was an unhealthy culture for political parties to offer seats in return for new members before an election, Lim argued that there is no material gain for any person who joins the opposition. "Instead, once you get elected (as an opposition representative), this is the beginning of the problems," he added. 'Stopped being superstitious' In his maiden speech, the party's new 'transformer' outlined several of his focus areas, which include racial integration, equitable distribution of national wealth, promoting good governance and knowledge-based economy. Ooi, who is considered the father of Malaysian blogging, was one of the first Malaysians to take to the blogosphere with his Screenshots weblog four years ago. He was also a former Gerakan member. On why he had opted to leave the ruling Gerakan for DAP, he said: "I stopped being superstitious on the promises made by (Prime Minister) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi." At the tea party, Ooi also unveiled his new political blog Jeff 4 Malaysia and handed over his membership application form to DAP national organising secretary Tan Kok Wai. However, both Ooi and Lim kept mum on which branch the former would join. Among the bloggers who turned up for the event include National Alliance for Bloggers pro-tem president Ahirudin Attan, secretary Nuraina A Samad and lawyer Haris Ibrahim.