No matter how clever Teng Chang Yeow is in playing his games of political deception, he can not run away from the fact that he sees himself as UMNO's representative and not the people's representative

I must confess that have I been deceived by BN Penang Chairman Teng Chang Yeow in his political games of challenging me to a contest between both of us in Padang Kota. Clearly Teng’s statements yesterday showed that he had no intention of honouring his challenge to me. This is despite the fact that I had accepted his ridiculous condition that I contest only a state seat and give up contesting a parliamentary seat, as is required of me as DAP Secretary-General leading my party nationally.

There were 3 reasons why I was drawn into Teng’s political deception. One he had issued the challenge to me first. If he now denies it, why did he set the ridiculous condition that I contest only a state seat, which I had immediately accepted. For Teng to claim that he had not issued the challenge first shows he lacks even the courage to admit that.

Two, Teng had had declared previously that “you must pick up from where you fall”, which can only mean that he would recontest Padang Kota. For him to say that he meant picking himself up in Penang and not Padang Kota, is dishonest as he might as well say picking himself up from planet Earth.

Third, he had announced that he would be a different leader from his predecessor Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and was willing to stand up to UMNO. By running away from contesting his own seat of Padang Kota that he had held for 3 terms from 1995-2008, shows that he is only willing to stand behind UMNO.

No matter how clever Teng is in playing his games of political deception, he can not run away from the fact that he sees himself as UMNO’s representative and not the people’s representative, which is contrary to the principle that the Penang Chief Minister must lead the people from the front and not from behind UMNO.

By leaving my seat of Air Putih picking Teng’s old seat of Padang Kota, I am giving his a favourable advantage. Padang Kota was won by DAP with the lowest majority of 1,661 votes amongst all the 19 state seats won by DAP in Penang in 2008. And yet despite DAP winning this seat by the smallest majority, he dare not recontest his old seat back.

I had hoped that this contest between us would offer the people clear choices – whether to revert back to UMNO and BN’s choice of a government led by cronies or choose a people-centric government for the people by the people and of the people. This is also about two governing policies between one that condones corruption and another that believes that a clean government based on Competency, Accountability and Transparency can outperform a corrupt one.

I was wrong in thinking that Teng would be a different leader from Koh Tsu Koon. In fact he is worse than Koh because Koh at least dared to recontest his state seat. As such I would no longer entertain Teng’s political games. Even though I have been tricked by Teng’s political deception, at least there is a silver lining in that Teng’s refusal to recontest his old seat has exposed him as a leader who leads not from the front but from behind UMNO.

Instead I will focus on my message on what type of future of Penang do we want our young to live in. PR believes in a Penang that is cleaner, greener, safer and healthier. Let the people of Penang decide whether PR has the policies and principles as well as possess the courage and the idealism to prepare the future for our young and the young for the future.