Cheah Kah Peng

In this Chinese name, the family name is Cheah (谢).
Yang Berbahagia Dato'
Cheah Kah Peng
DSPN
谢嘉平
Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly
for Kebun Bunga
In office
5 May 2013 – 8 May 2018
Preceded byJason Ong Khan Lee
(PR–PKR)
Succeeded byJason Ong Khan Lee
(PH–PKR)
Majority9,030 (2013)
Personal details
Born[when?]
Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
CitizenshipMalaysian
Nationality Malaysia
Political partyPeople's Justice Party (PKR) (since 1999)
Other political
affiliations		Pakatan Harapan (PH) (since 2015)
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) (2008-2015)
Barisan Alternatif (BA) (1999-2004)
Alma materSoochow University
University of Oxford
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer, painter, writer, filmmaker and activist

Cheah Kah Peng (simplified Chinese: 谢嘉平; traditional Chinese: 謝嘉平; pinyin: Xiè Jiā Píng; Jyutping: Ze6 Gaa1 Ping4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiā Ka-pêng) is a Malaysian politician, lawyer, painter, writer, filmmaker and human rights activist. He was the Penang State Legislative Assemblyman in Malaysia for the constituency of Kebun Bunga for one term from 2013 to 2018 representing the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of Pakatan Harapan (PH).[1][2][3]

Background

Cheah Kah Peng was born in Georgetown, Penang. Cheah (谢) is his family name, and Kah Peng (嘉平) is his given name. He attended Soochow University and University of Oxford where he studied law. He received the prestigious British Government Chevening Scholarship and read law in Oxford.

Living as a young traveller in Europe, Asia and Australia during the 1980s and 1990s he became involved in many civil and human rights campaign activities. He travelled widely as a painter, writer, filmmaker and human rights activist before he returned to Malaysia from Australia during the mid 90s, and practices laws at Cheah Kah Peng & Co., Penang.[4]

Politics

Cheah became one of the earliest founding members of a new National Justice Party (KeADILan) on 4 April 1999 (which subsequently amalgamated with Malaysian People's Party (PRM) to become People's Justice Party (PKR).

The political party he helped to construct focused on dismantling its colonial legacy of racial divide (or apartheid) through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality. He was elected as member of the party's Supreme Council and served as central committee member from 1999 to 2010. He was reported to be one of the International Human Rights lawyers at risk in international journals from 1999 to 2003 during which he was one of the few lawyers who stood up against Malaysia's draconian Internal Security Act (ISA).[5] In the year 2000, he was arrested and imprisoned in Malaysia for a trumped up charge of obstructing police officers in execution of their duty while the truth was that he tried to stop the police from causing grievous bodily harm to political detainees.[6]

In the 2013 general election, he was picked by PKR to contest and won the Penang state seat of Kebun Bunga to be its assemblyman.

Controversies

In November 2015, Cheah with four other PKR Penang assemblypersons – Ong Chin Wen (Bukit Tengah), Dr Norlela Ariffin (Penanti), Dr T. Jayabalan (Batu Uban) and Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubok) abstained from voting against a land reclamation motion proposed by the opposition United Malays National Organisation (UMNO); causing a conflict of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) state government and a strained relation with the Chief Minister of Penang then, Lim Guan Eng.[7] In February 2016, Lim announced that Cheah and Ong who was also the state PKR whip had been removed from their positions in the state government-linked companies (GLCs).[8][9] Cheah was sacked as the director of the Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) while Ong was sacked as the director posts in Penang Invest and Island Golf Properties Bhd, a subsidiary company of Penang Development Corporation.[10]

In 2017, Cheah was excluded from the PH assemblypersons list, who were to register victims of the Penang's devastating floods on 4–5 November in their own constituency for the state's initiated post-flood relief aid of RM700 for every eligible recipient. The Chief Minister Lim announced he together with the Pulau Tikus assemblyperson Yap Soo Huey instead would register floods victims in Cheah's Kebun Bunga constituency, near Botanical Gardens.[11] To counter back, a defiant Cheah held a similar programme not far away from the one organised by the state government.[12]

As speculated, Cheah was dropped by PKR as the PH candidate,[13] to make way of the Kebun Bunga seat for the predecessor assemblyman, Jason Ong Khan Lee returning to contest the 2018 general election.[14] Ong managed to win the election on 9 May 2018 to be the Kebun Bunga assemblyman again.[15]

Election results

Penang State Legislative Assembly[16][17][18][19]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 N24 Kebun Bunga Cheah Kah Peng (PKR) 12,366 76.60% Hng Chee Wey (Gerakan) 3,336 20.70% 15,861 9,030 83.80%
Jayaraman s/o K Kunchu Kannu (IND) 159 1.00%

Honours

References

  1. ^ "光华电子新闻 – 丰盛园土崩威胁民宅 谢嘉平促官员到场了解". kwongwah.com.my. Kwong Wah Yit Poh. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  2. ^ "2013年02月16日 - 準備好上陣 謝嘉平只待黨委派 - 北馬 - 光明日報". guangming.com.my. Guang Ming Daily. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  3. ^ "【今日北馬頭條】打槍埔誰敢轉租！ 謝嘉平：審查後收回單位 – 中國報". chinapress.com.my. China Press. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Cheah Kah Peng & Co., Penang". RCAKL Directory. Malaysian Legal (Lawyers, Solicitors and Advocates) Directory. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  5. ^ P Ramakrishnan (2003). "Assault in Kamunting: Keepers of law became violators of rule of law". Aliran Kesedaran Negara (Aliran). Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  6. ^ HAJI SULAIMAN ABDULLAH (PENGERUSI) (20 April 2000). "Arrest of lawyer in P.J. Police Station". The Malaysian Bar. Retrieved 6 July 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Guan Eng slams five PKR state lawmakers". The Malaysian Insider. The Edge Markets. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  8. ^ Opalyn Mok (23 February 2016). "Guan Eng: Penang only sacked PKR chief attackers, spared supporting trio". Malay Mail. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  9. ^ Opalyn Mok (24 February 2016). "Big mistake to remove me from Penang Hill Corporation, says PKR rep". Malay Mail. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  10. ^ Logeiswary Thevadass (20 Feb 2016). "Two PKR assemblymen axed from Penang GLCs". The Star. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Kebun Bunga assemblyman quarrel with Guan Eng threatens to overshadow flood relief aid". The Sun Daily. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  12. ^ Mohamed Basyir (23 November 2017). "PKR assemblyman says Penang govt 'unintelligent' over his exclusion from helping flood victims". The New Straits Times. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Rumbles of discontent in Penang PKR". The Sun Daily. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Ong: No rift with dropped Cheah". The Sun Daily. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  15. ^ "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  16. ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  17. ^ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2017.Results only available for the 2013 election.
  18. ^ "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". www.myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.