'Tainted' Liu vows to clean up DAP

DAP appointed and elected representatives who are out to line their own pocket will need to look over their shoulders with self-proclaimed 'party cleaner' Selangor executive councilor Ronnie Liu around.

According to the recently defeated senior DAP member, he will be actively "cleansing the party of negative elements", whether or not he gets appointed to the Selangor party leadership line-up.

Last Sunday, Liu suffered a severe blow by chalking up a dismal 369 votes thus failing to make it into the new state leadership headed by fellow exco Teresa Kok.

Admittedly facing a low point in his political career, the former Selangor DAP chief, however, believes that he does not need to hold any high position to play his part in ridding the party of ‘cancerous cells'.

"Every party needs cleansing. How do I not know? (But) if you don't purge these people out of the party they (become) like cancerous cells. Instead of fighting political enemies of the party, they fight you," he said.

Candidly, Liu said that DAP is heading the way of MCA, with a rising inclination for money politics.

"I am so very worried that DAP will become another MCA... plagued with things like money politics.

"If you want to win, you have buy people dinner, send people for holidays. You have to promise candidacy and all that, promise them they'll be councillor or village head. That is MCA.

"I don't want DAP to be like that. We have only become state government, we cannot afford to become like that... I think it is heading that way if we are not careful," he said.

‘Some mud will stick'

Ironically, Liu himself is facing numerous allegations of corruption and underworld links, which he said he had explained.

"I call this mudslinging. If mud thrown at you, even if it doesn't hit you, you'll get some on your face or your shoulder. It's not like a stone which you can avoid," he said.

While he admits that the "perception" that he is involved in criminal activities has "tainted him", Liu claims that these assaults on his character are coming from those inside and outside the party who had to bear the brunt of his apparent witch-hunt.

"Some of them are in the party and some outside the party. Sometimes they work together, with one making a police report one after the other.

"I will continue to (expose wrongdoings) and they know this. That is why it is necessary for them to cut me down to size, but I am not complaining," he said of his list of enemies.

According to Liu, those who must be mindful of his eagle eye include "councillors who just sit there to get contracts for their friends and state assemblypersons who don't do their jobs".

"I will suggest to the party to remove them. This kind of behaviour will step on many people's toes but we have a job to do. Not many people want to do this, it is a painful job," said Liu, who claims to have been trying to purge the party of negative elements for over 10 years now.

'My detractors need to work harder'

Ironically, despite graft-busting work within the party, Liu failed to spot the wrongdoings of his former aide and once staunch supporter Tee Boon Hock, who was sacked for abusing Liu's letterhead to get local councils to provide contracts to his son's company.

Tee ( left ) had brought his dispute over the sacking to the Registrar of Societies and has gone on what appears to be a personal vendetta against Liu by campaigning against him in the state polls as well as in his constituency Pandamaran.

"Politics is never easy, and it was never easy for me either. Before, if someone punched me, I would punch back... now I lie low. I know one day this (the attacks) will go away. Truth is truth, rumours are rumours.

"My detractors will have to work very hard to run me down. With or without a position (in state party leadership), I will continue and this is Ronnie Liu," he said, ever unbowed despite his predicament.

 

Part 1: 'Unity team would have lost without me'

Part 2: No bowing out as exco for Ronnie Liu

Part 3: 'Tainted' Liu vows to cleanse out DAP