Claiming that he accepts the party’s decision and is not disheartened, Tan denies that he is left out of GE14 because of his role in the 1MDB report.
DAP’s incumbent Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw has stated that he will accept the decision made by the party to drop his name from the 14th General Election (GE14) candidate list.
Speaking to The Sun, the eight-term DAP veteran stated that he was not disheartened with the decision and would toe to the party’s line.
Asked whether he would leave the party and stand as an independent, Tan replied: “No”.
“The HQ has made its decision. If that is the decision, then we have to follow. That is how politics are,” he said.
Tan, however, said that he would continue to serve the people in his constituency.
“I will still be at my office. If the people come to ask for help, I will help.”
Within DAP, 75-year-old Tan is known for his frank views and has often spoken out against party leaders.
He has been serving in the Kepong constituency since he won it in 1982.
In GE13, he defended his seat with a majority of 40,307, defeating Barisan Nasional’s Chandrakumanan Arumugam and independent Yee Poh Ping.
Tan denied that he was dropped as the candidate for the Kepong parliamentary seat due to his role in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), The Star reported.
He said that when he was the PAC deputy chairman, he had read through the Auditor General’s report many times
He added that during the time when the PAC met, it was difficult to tie Finance Minister and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to the issue.
“At that time there was no DOJ (US Department of Justice) report yet. It was the Sarawak Report, and that is not evidence. That is just perception reportage,” he was quoted saying.
Current DAP Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng would replace Tan in Kepong.
DAP stalwart Hannah Yeoh, who was Subang Jaya state assemblyman, will be contesting the Segambut parliamentary seat.
The Speaker of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly before its dissolution will not be defending her Subang Jaya state seat.
It was also reported that incumbents Teresa Kok, Tan Kok Wai and Fong Kui Lun will continue to defend their respective parliamentary seats in Seputeh, Cheras and Bukit Bintang.
Kok is currently in her fourth term as Seputeh MP, Tan in his fifth term as Cheras MP, while Fong is three-term Bukit Bintang MP.