JOHOR BARU, Dec 31 — In what is seen as a sharp rebuttal to Johor DAP deputy chief Teo Nie Ching’s response yesterday, Dr Boo Cheng Hau has refuted her reply to his allegations on the party’s state chief Liew Chin Tong’s alleged lobbying for a senatorship post.

He called on Liew to explain publicly in person as to the reasons why he bypassed the Johor DAP state committee in nominating himself as a senator in Dewan Negara under the state quota.

"I would like to thank Teo (Nie Ching) for verifying the fact that Liew sought nomination for a senatorship under the Johor state quota and would like to advise her not to be Liew’s human shield, unless she was aware of the incident and agrees with the particular incident.

"Liew, as a respectable leader, should be accountable for what he did and needs to personally explain the reasons he bypassed the Johor DAP state committee in nominating himself as a senator for Johor.

"This includes clarifying that he had no hidden agenda in the senatorship nomination and that there were no personal deals with the Barisan Nasional (BN)-Perikatan National (PN) government back in August this year,” said Dr Boo in a statement issued today.

His comments came after yesterday’s response to his earlier allegation against Liew who he claimed had misused his power in an attempt to lobby the BN-PN government for a senator’s post.

Dr Boo, a former Johor DAP chief and also state Opposition Leader, hit out at Teo’s claim that Johor could see a snap state election soon.

"As a seasoned politician, Teo should not try to find a scapegoat and she should have realised that any undue pressure on the ruling BN-PN administration by Opposition members for any government-linked corporation (GLC) positions would trigger a snap state election for them to seek a bigger majority,” he said, adding that he maintains that the timeline for the events was before August 16 just before former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin stepped down.

At that point of time, the composition of the Johor state assembly was 29 from BN-PN and 27 from Pakatan Harapan (PH) at that point of time.

Since the collapse of the previous PH state government in 2020, Johor has been under the BN-PN ruling coalition with only a slim majority. At present it is led by BN’s Datuk Hasni Mohammad.

Dr Boo pointed out that the mere act for Liew in getting himself nominated for the senator post without the knowledge of Johor DAP state committee and the party’s state assemblymen would also have become one of the sparks for a snap state election.

"I would like to advise Teo as the Johor State Deputy chairperson not to be an "all-yes-lady” for the state chief.

"Teo should have advised Liew otherwise for breaching the party’s democratic conventions, including seeking the state committee’s approval before nominating him for senatorship,” he said.

Dr Boo also sought to explain on the claim that nomination for Liew’s senator post in Dewan Negara is decided by DAP’s national candidature committee and not by the state committee.

He said that even though the party constitution states that the appointment of election candidates and government positions are the Central Executive Committee’s (CEC) ultimate prerogative, the central leadership has always sought branches’ and state committees’ feedback on any such appointments and nominations.

"If the claim that Liew’s proposal to be nominated as senator in a BN-PN run state is true, perhaps they could help explain the real reasons for the Central Candidature Selection Sub-committee for breaching such a long-standing party democratic convention without notifying the state committee?

"I would like to kindly both Liew and Teo that any power always come with great responsibilities. As DAP leaders with great quality and commitment to the party’s principles, they could take credit for the party’s success but must be prepared to shoulder the responsibility for losing ground without finding any scapegoat,” said Dr Boo.