Jeff Ooi Explained

Jeff Ooi
Constituency Mp:Jelutong
Parliament:Malaysian
Majority:16,246 (2008)
25,750 (2013)
Predecessor:Lee Kah Choon
(BNGerakan)
Successor:RSN Rayer
(PHDAP)
Term Start:8 March 2008
Term End:9 May 2018
Birth Name:Ooi Chuan Aun
Birth Date:2 November 1955
Birth Place:Kedah, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Citizenship:Malaysian
Party:Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan)

Democratic Action Party (DAP)

Heritage Party (WARISAN)
Otherparty:Barisan Nasional (BN)

Pakatan Rakyat (PR)

Pakatan Harapan (PH)
Occupation:Politician
Module:
Child:yes
Hide:no
T:黃泉安
S:黄泉安
Poj:Ûiⁿ Choân-an
Tl:Uînn Tsuân-an
J:Wong4 Cyun4 On1
P:Huáng Quán Ān

Ooi Chuan Aun[1] (; born 2 November 1955[2]), better known as Jeff Ooi, is a Malaysian IT consultant, blogger, photographer and politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jelutong for two terms from March 2008 to May 2018.

He is a member of the Heritage Party (WARISAN) and was a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition coalitions and a member of the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN), then component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

Early life

Ooi is from a small town in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah. He was brought up among rural teenagers and is trilingual, fluent in Mandarin, English and Malay.

Blog and internet activity

Jeff Ooi used to write a blog known as "Screenshots...", which he started on 2 January 2003, covering current issues relating to Malaysia, mainly on politics. From time to time, it also touches on international news and photography.

Jeff Ooi's blog was described as "Malaysia's Most Influential Blog" by Malaysiakini, a local online news publication known for its different stance to the mainstream media. In 2005, Screenshots won in the Asia category of the Freedom Blogs Awards given by Reporters Without Borders.[3]

Ooi is also the administrator at a photography forum called Lensa Malaysia, which receives 200,000-page views per month. He is also the founder and administrator of UEP Subang Jaya and Subang Jaya's community forum usj.com.my,[4] and was hired by CNET Asia as a tech blogger alongside other CNET Asia bloggers. He named his CNET Asia blog Lemak Lemang,[5] a reference to Lemang, coconut-flavoured sticky rice stuffed in a bamboo stick traditionally prepared by Malays.

Political career (2006-present)

In 2006, it was reported by The Star, a local English language daily, that Ooi was among several local bloggers being approached by the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) to run for public office. Ooi, who was at the time a member of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN), a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, stated that it was "too premature at this point" for him to consider entering active politics.[6]

He joined DAP on 31 July 2007.[7] Ooi stood as a DAP candidate in the 2008 general election for a seat in Jelutong, Penang,[8] [9] which he won by 16,246 votes. He retained his seat in the 2013 general election. Ooi was dropped by DAP as a candidate in the 2018 general election.[10]

On 22 January 2022, he was present at a Heritage Party (WARISAN) event namely "Warisan Unity Night" and revealed his hope that his application to join WARISAN would be considered. On 24 January 2022, he was confirmed to have joined WARISAN and been appointed as the state coordinator of WARISAN of Penang[11] He claim more Penang DAP leaders set to join Warisan[12] which hope to contest all federal and state seats of Penang in the next general and state elections (GE15).[13]

Lawsuit as blogger

On 11 January 2007, Ooi, alongside Ahirudin Attan, was sued by the New Straits Times Press (NSTP).[14] The Malaysian court ordered Ooi to remove more than 10 posts on his blog that the NSTP claimed were libellous by 17 January. Ooi was prohibited from republishing the posts on his blog or anywhere else on the internet until the resolution of the defamation suit. The lawsuits were the first of their kind in Malaysia.[15] Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi defended the legal action launched against Ooi, saying the Internet was not exempt from defamation laws.[16] This lawsuit spawned the 'Bloggers United' campaign to defend bloggers and freedom of expression. Jeff Ooi and Ahirudin chose to defend themselves in court. The situation resulted in various newspapers covering Malaysian blogging. A fund was also set up to protect bloggers and support their activities.

Islamic extremist remarks

In early August 2009, Ooi had labelled Mohd Razali Abdullah, a Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) councillor, an Islamic extremist. This caused a public scandal, especially from within the Muslim community, because Razali was a member of Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM), a registered organisation with close ties with Ooi's own party's youth wing, the Penang DAP Socialist Youth.[17] His comments were interpreted as claiming that Syariah Law was extreme and that Muslims are extremists. The Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, ordered Ooi to retract his statements and apologise publicly, which Ooi eventually did after initially refusing. However, he did not offer an apology and continued criticising Razali, calling him "a political burden to the state government".[18] The Islamic religious leaders association of Penang (Persatuan Ulama' Malaysia cawangan Pulau Pinang) subsequently launched a petition to demand that Ooi resign from office for his comments about Muslims and Islam in Malaysia.[19]

Disdain slurs

In November 2013, Ooi had drawn flak by calling 'kucing kurap' (literally mangy cats) two MPPP officers accompanying him as Jelutong MP during his visit to an illegal hawker site when he was unsatisfied with them who were ill-informed.[20] Ooi had apologised for his controversial remark later after DAP chairman Karpal Singh had rebuked and called on him to publicly apologise.[21]

Election results

Year!
ConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout
2008P050 Jelutong, Penang (DAP)30,49367%Thor Teong Gee (Gerakan)14,24731%46,40616,24676.85%
Badrul Zaman P.S. Md Zakariah (IND) 8822%
2013 (DAP)43,21170%Ng Fook On (Gerakan)17,46128%61,72525,75086.64%
2022P052 Bayan Baru, PenangOoi Chuan Aun (WARISAN)4400.49% (PKR)55,20961.54%89,70734,90279.63%
bgcolor= Oh Tong Keong (GERAKAN) 20,30722.64%
Saw Yee Fung (MCA) 13,37714.91%
Ravinder Singh (PRM)2510.28%
Kan Chee Yuen (IND)1240.14%

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Puah, Pauline (18 January 2007). NST sues Jeff Ooi, Rocky for defamation . The Sun.
  2. News: Election strategist among new faces . 12 February 2008 . 12 February 2008 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090208211359/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F2%2F12%2Fnation%2F20297439 . 8 February 2009 .
  3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4099802.stm Blogs lauded in 'freedom awards'
  4. Web site: USJ-Subang Jaya e-Community Frontpage. usj.com.my.
  5. Web site: Lemak Lemang - Blogs - CNET Asia. https://web.archive.org/web/20070225060520/http://www00.asia.cnet.com/reviews/blog/lemaklemang/. dead. 25 February 2007. 25 February 2007.
  6. Tan, Joceline (26 November 2006). Cyberspace talent search. The Star.
  7. http://www.dapmalaysia.org/english/2007/july07/bul/bul3352.htm Media statement by Jeff Ooi
  8. Web site: Screenshots: Jelutong . 21 February 2008 . 21 February 2008 . Ooi, Jeff . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080225131713/http://www.jeffooi.com/2008/02/jelutong.php . 25 February 2008 .
  9. News: DAP rockets into Penang eyeing seven parliamentary seats . Lim, Ai Lee . 14 February 2008 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080511121843/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F2%2F14%2Felection2008%2F20321812&sec=election2008 . 11 May 2008 .
  10. News: DAP six face the axe . The Star. 21 April 2018. K. Suthakar and Arnold Loh. 21 April 2018.
  11. Web site: No antagonism, sloganeering from us, unlike DAP: Warisan's Jeff Ooi. 24 January 2022 . The Vibes. 24 January 2022.
  12. Web site: More Penang DAP leaders set to join Warisan, says Jeff Ooi [NSTTV]]. Audrey Dermawan . New Straits Times. 24 January 2022 . 24 January 2022.
  13. Web site: Warisan to contest all seats in Penang in GE15]. Predeep Nambiar. 24 January 2022. . 24 January 2022.
  14. Ooi, Jeff (18 January 2006). Bloggers sued in Malaysia . Screenshots.
  15. Web site: Court gags Malaysian blogger . 19 January 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070123234835/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2ABAF201-92F0-4FF1-896D-A77FC808B07C.htm . 23 January 2007 .
  16. Web site: Malaysian PM defends legal action against bloggers . 25 January 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070126173255/http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070124/afp/070124173712hightech.html . 26 January 2007 . dead .
  17. Web site: Retract statement, Jemaah Islah Malaysia tells Ooi. www.thestar.com.my. en-GB. 2019-08-24. 2009-08-04.
  18. Web site: MP urged to apologise for calling JIM an 'extremist organisation' . 7 August 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090810100207/http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2009%2F8%2F7%2Fnation%2F4471576&sec=nation . 10 August 2009 .
  19. Web site: Signature campaign demanding Jeff Ooi to resign . 9 September 2009 . 9 September 2009.
  20. Web site: Jeff Ooi apologises for 'kucing kurap' remark . 2 December 2013. The Edge Markets. 26 January 2022.
  21. Web site: MP in 'kucing kurap' row apologises after lashing from Karpal. Opalyn Mok. 1 December 2013 . Malay Mail. 26 January 2022.