Hee faces the heat

(The Straits Times) Teo Cheng Wee looks at why Hee Yit Fong is getting more heat than others. LAST Wednesday, four opposition assemblymen in Perak switched allegiance to Barisan Nasional, returning power to the ruling coalition. The move upset many Malaysians because it was seen as an illegitimate way of taking power and many hit out at the defectors. But in the aftermath, one of the defectors appeared to be bearing the brunt of the unhappiness: DAP assemblyman Hee Yit Fong. In the days after she quit the Democratic Action Party (DAP) to become a BN-friendly independent, she has received considerable abuse on the Internet and in real-life. Voters and DAP leaders like Mr Lim Guan Eng labelled her as a traitor, and angry constituents have burnt photos and effigies of her. The attacks have targeted her family as well. Her brother told the Chinese press last week that he had gotten so many angry phone calls at the family home that they had to take the phone off the hook. Other reports said that market stalls won't sell her family any produce and that her son had been missing from work, presumably to escape abuse. Not surprisingly, news portal Malaysian Insider described her as "possibly the most hated woman in Malaysia right now". In comparison, the other three "frogs", as party-hoppers are called here, seemed to get away easy. Mr Mohd Osman Jailu, Mr Jamaluddin Radzi and Datuk Nasarudin Hashim have not had to endure the level of vitriol that Ms Hee has. But Ms Hee's position is different from the rest. For one, she is the only Chinese among the four defectors. She has had to bear the brunt of the anger from Perak residents, particularly the Chinese, because she was seen as a representative of her race, who stood to lose the most in a change of government. Out of the 28 assemblymen in Perak's newly formed BN government, 27 are from Umno. Only one is from the Malaysian Chinese Association. In the previous state government, the Chinese-based DAP held 18 of the 31 seats from Pakatan Rakyat. For the Chinese, it means that their representation in the state government has plummeted. Among all the defectors, Ms Hee is also seen as having the least reason to jump. Mr Mohd Osman and Mr Jamaluddin were said to have been baited by the dropping corruption charges against them. This allegation was denied by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, but speculation remains strong. And while some may call it double standards, Malaysians are holding Ms Hee to higher standards because she was a DAP assemblymen. DAP members, as the public sees it, are supposed to be more loyal, principled and less swayed by money. In the latest development - which won't help her cause - sources say she will be offered a Perak exco post and an official Toyota Camry car that comes along with the job. It is an ironic turn of events, considering that she was said to have defected because she wasn't given a Camry when she was the state deputy speaker under the Pakatan Rakyat administration. She was not one of the six exco members sworn in by Perak's Sultan Azlan Shah today (Feb 10), but there are still four more slots to be filled in the exco. Well aware of the anger, she has not returned to Perak since her defection, and has been trying to clear her name in the press. She told reporters that she was forced out of DAP and that they would have kicked her out anyway, even if she didn't jump ship. She reiterated that she was sidelined by the powerful Perak DAP leaders and cousins Mr Ngeh Koo Ham and Mr Nga Kor Ming, and had no choice but to resign. In a Sin Chew Daily report today (Feb 10), she also denied that she received a rumoured RM 20 million payout from BN, or that she will get an exco post. A China Press commentary today, however, spoke up for her. It expressed "sympathy and pity" for Ms Hee, saying that even if the public was upset with her, that it was unfair to target her family, who might not have much say in her final decision. However, she must have seen this coming and should not shift blame elsewhere for her predicament, the commentary said. "One thing is for sure. If Ms Hee wishes to continue her political career, she will need to put in 10 times the effort that a normal assemblyman does." It looks like a long road ahead for "the most hated woman in Malaysia".