Paul Yong Choo Kiong

Paul Yong Choo Kiong (Chinese: 杨祖強; pinyin: Yáng Zǔqiáng; born 23 September 1970), is a Malaysian politician who is the current Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly for Tronoh since 2013.[1] He had also served as the Member of Perak State Executive Council (Exco) for Housing and Local Government, Public Transport, Non-Muslim Affairs and New Villages from 2018 until the collapse of the state and federal governments of [Pakatan Harapan]] (PH) due to the political crisis in 2020. Yong who was a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in PH coalition had turned independent to support the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition in aftermath of the crisis.[2]

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yong (杨).

Yang Berhormat Tuan Paul Yong Choo Kiong MLA
杨祖強
Perak State Executive Councillor for Housing and Local Government, Public Transport, Non-Muslim Affairs and New Villages
In office 19 May 2018 – 10 March 2020 Duties Suspended : 24 August 2019 – 15 November 2019
Monarch	Nazrin Shah
Menteri Besar	Ahmad Faizal Azumu
Preceded by	Rusnah Kassim (Housing, Local Government) Mah Hang Soon (Public Transport, Non-Muslim Affairs, New Villages)
Succeeded by	Nolee Ashilin Mohamed Radzi (Housing, Local Government) Mohd Zolkafly Harun (Public Transport) Ahmad Faizal Azumu (Non-Muslim Affairs, New Villages)
Constituency	Tronoh
Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly for Tronoh
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2013
Preceded by	V. Sivakumar (DAP)
Majority	6,191 (2013) 10,501 (2018)
Personal details
Born	Yong Choo Kiong (1970-09-23) 23 September 1970 Sitiawan, Perak, Malaysia
Citizenship	Malaysian
Political party	Democratic Action Party(2004-2020) Independent (2020-)
Other political affiliations	Pakatan Harapan (until 2020)
Residence	Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Alma mater	Nan Hua High School
Occupation	Politician
Paul Yong Choo Kiong on Facebook

Personal life

Paul Yong Choo Kiong was born in Sitiawan, Perak. His family were settlers of New Village Program introduced during the British rule of Malaya.[3]

Education and professional career

Yong received his education from SJKC Pei Min Ayer Tawar, and subsequently from SMK Ambrose, Ayer Tawar as well as Nan Hua High School of Ayer Tawar. He also obtained a Masters in Business Administration from a correspondence University name Akamai,[4] although pronounced by opposition politician Wee Ka Siong that the degree obtained by Yong is a part of a degree mill.[5]

Political career

Entering politics in 2004, Yong quickly became the Political Secretary to Ngeh Koo Ham in the Sitiawan Branch of DAP[6] Yong stood as the State Assemblyman candidate in the 2013 Malaysian General Election and won in the state seat of Tronoh in Perak. As the incumbent, Yong retained the seat in the 2018 Malaysian General Election (GE14) beating his closest rival from MCA Yuen Chan How by a majority of 10,501 votes.[7] With his win in the GE14, he was appointed an Perak state Exco member serving in the PH state government under Menteri Besar, Ahmad Faizal Azumu.[8]

Controversies

Accused of rape

In August, 2019 it was arraigned in Ipoh Sessions Court under Section 376 of the indictment on the charge of Yong raping his maid in a room on the top floor of Meru Road 2, Meru Village Park, near here, between 8.15 and 9.15pm on 7 July 2019. Allegations first arose around early July[9] and despite having police investigations returned, the it was resubmitted to the Attorney General Chambers for charges,[10] resulting in Yong being charged in the Ipoh Sessions Court for rape of his househelper.[11] It then emerged that there was 'third party' involvement[12] and Ngeh Koo Ham publicly saying that he had met the person who was paid to make the police report along with the househelper.[13] Despite an official request from the legal defense team to expedite the case and have it transferred to the high court for a faster hearing, the high court denied the transfer, requesting it be heard in the sessions court instead.[14] The victim was kept under the witness protection act at the Indonesian Embassy of Kuala Lumpur, and despite pleas from the mother of the victim,[15] was denied visitation rights while during case management, the defense had also appealed to the prosecution to withdraw the case, citing the chemist report that indicated no traces of his DNA was ever found in clothing items as well as in bodily fluids of the swab from the alleged victim[16]

Third Party Involvement

Yong opted to go on leave when pressure was stepped up calling for him to take leave-of-absence[17] despite earlier rejecting the advise of the Menteri Besar[18] Although he did proceed with the leave-of-absence, Yong returned to duty at the Perak State Legislative Assembly seating between 16–22 November.[19] It was then alleged that Perak DAP Chairman Nga Kor Ming was overheard in a recording chiding Yong for his initiative to return to work, further compounding the rumour that 'black hands' were behind the accusation.[20] Allegations emerged during Yong's appearance in court when a few hundred of his supporters emerged to call for the resignation of Nga.[21]

Urges of calm and support

Despite his defense claim and emergence of third party involvement, Yong released a press statement urging his supporters to continue their support of the party and its leaders.[22] Other developments relating to this include the earlier resignation of two state assemblymen for Malim Nawar, Leong Cheok Keng and Pokok Assam, Leow Thye Yih in protest to Nga's statement of Party's decision on Yong's fate rather than the Party's state committee. However both then relented and returned to the state committee on Yong's continued appeal.[23] Both were then denied reinstatement[24] with Nga publicly rebutting 'members who fail to toe party's line'[25]

House broken into

On 5 November 2019, Yong reported that his house was broken into while he was away on business, resulting in the loss of important documents as well as personal property. Oddly, the room in which his former househelper stayed in was left locked and untouched.[26] The police confirmed that there was indeed a break in at Yong's house, and while two safeboxes containing documents and valuables were taken, neither his high powered motorcycle, 60 inch TV nor other expensive items were taken[27]

Election results

Perak State Legislative Assembly: N33 Tronoh, P66 Batu Gajah.[28][29][30][31][32][33]

Year			Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2013		Paul Yong Choo Kiong (DAP)	13,243	64.10%		Yip Sze Choy (MCA)	7,052	34.20%	20,646	6,191	76.80%
2018		Paul Yong Choo Kiong (DAP)	15,061	55.90%		Yuen Chan How (MCA)	4,560	16.90%	20,299	10,501	75.40%
						Andy Chin Kwai Heng (PSM)	333	1.20%

References

1. "YB Paul Yong Choo Kiong". mykuasa.org. 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
2. Zahratulhayat Mat Arif (9 March 2020). "Three Perak assemblymen declare themselves independent". New Straits Times. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
3. Perak, Suara (May 2018). "Lima Portfolio YB Paul Yong". Suara Perak. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
4. Perak, Suara (May 2018). "Lima Portfolio YB Paul Yong". Suara Perak. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
5. Ka Siong, Wee (9 February 2019). "Kilang Ijazah". Facebook. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
6. Koo Ham, Ngeh (1 August 2008). "Political Secretary". ngehkooham.blogspot.com.
7. Star, The (10 May 2018). "14th GE Election Results". The Star. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
8. Loh, Ivan (20 May 2019). "Perak State Exco Sworn In". The Star Publication. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
9. KiniTV, Malaysiakini (9 July 2019). "Police Investigating Perak EXCO member over rape allegations". Retrieved 5 December 2019.
10. National News Agency, Bernama (19 August 2019). "Malay Mail". Retrieved 5 December 2019.
11. Mat Arif, Zahratulhayat (24 September 2019). "Paul Yong Rape Trial". New Straits Times. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
12. Kaur, Minderjeet (23 August 2019). "Power struggle with federal DAP leaders led to rape report in Perak".
13. Loh, Ivan (22 August 2019). "Ngeh:Man paid RM100k to take maid to lodge rape report against Paul Yong".
14. Kaur, Manjit (26 November 2019). "High Court denies Paul Yong rape case transfer request". The Star.
15. kinitv, Malaysiakini (11 October 2019). "Mother, lawyer seek to meet rape victim in Indonesian embassy safehouse". Malaysiakini.
16. Staronline, The (22 October 2019). "Paul Yong's lawyers call for prosecution to withdraw rape charge". The Staronline. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
17. Loh, Ivan (25 August 2019). "Paul Yong Takes Leave". The Star.
18. Kinitv, Malaysiakini (23 August 2019). "Paul Yong refuses to go on leave despite MB's advice". Malaysiakini.
19. Reporters, FMT (17 November 2019). "Rape Accused EXCO Paul Yong defends decision to return to work". Free Malaysia Today.
20. Kaur, Manjit (17 November 2019). "Audio Clip of DAP leader criticising Paul Yong for resuming duties go viral". The Star.
21. kinitv, Malaysiakini (24 September 2019). "Drama at EXCOs Rape Case, Protest against Nga, lawyer claims maid 'political pawn'". Malaysiakini.
22. Loh, Ivan (21 November 2019). "Paul Yong ureges supporters to support Perak DAP Leadership". The Star.
23. Loh, Ivan (23 November 2019). "Two Perak DAP Reps who quit party posts rejoins committee". The Star.
24. Loh, Ivan (25 November 2019). "Fire Still Burning in Perak DAP". The Star.
25. Loh, Ivan (24 November 2019). "No quarter for DAP members who fail to toe the party line". The Star.
26. Kaur, Manjit (5 November 2019). "Important Documents Stolen from State Reps House". The Star.
27. Loh, Ivan (9 December 2019). "Cops Say Break In at Paul Yong's House Genuine". The Star. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
28. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
29. "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
30. "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.
31. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
32. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
33. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.

External links

• Paul Yong Choo Kiong on Facebook