Teresa Kok Suh Sim | |
|---|---|
郭素沁 | |
 | |
| Deputy Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee | |
| Assumed office 16 July 2024 | |
| Nominated by | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Appointed by | Johari Abdul |
| Chairperson | Mas Ermieyati Samsudin |
| Preceded by | Wong Shu Qi |
| Constituency | Seputeh |
| Minister of Primary Industries | |
| In office 2 July 2018 – 24 February 2020 | |
| Monarchs | Muhammad V (2018–2019) Abdullah (2019–2020) |
| Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad |
| Deputy | Shamsul Iskandar Md. Akin |
| Preceded by | Mah Siew Keong (Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities) |
| Succeeded by | Khairuddin Razali (Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities) |
| Constituency | Seputeh |
| Senior Member of the Selangor State Executive Council (Investment, Trade and Industry) | |
| In office 25 March 2008 – 29 May 2013 | |
| Monarch | Sharafuddin |
| Menteri Besar | Khalid Ibrahim |
| Preceded by | Tang See Hang (Member) |
| Succeeded by | Ean Yong Hian Wah (Member) |
| Constituency | Kinrara |
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forSeputeh | |
| Assumed office 29 November 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Liew Ah Kim (DAP) |
| Majority | 5,200 (1999) 12,895 (2004) 36,492 (2008) 51,552 (2013) 56,059 (2018) 67,187 (2022) |
| Member of theSelangor State Legislative Assembly forKinrara | |
| In office 8 March 2008 – 5 May 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Kow Chong Wei (BN–MCA) |
| Succeeded by | Ng Sze Han (PR–DAP) |
| Majority | 5,739 (2008) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (1964-03-31)31 March 1964 (age 60) Selangor,Malaysia |
| Citizenship | Malaysian |
| Political party | Democratic Action Party (DAP) |
| Other political affiliations | Gagasan Rakyat (GR) Barisan Alternatif (BA) (1999–2004) Pakatan Rakyat (PR) (2008–2015) Pakatan Harapan (PH) (since 2015) |
| Alma mater | Universiti Malaya Universiti Sains Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman University College |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | www |
Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Chinese:郭素沁;pinyin:Guō Sùqìn;Jyutping:Gwok3 Sou3 Sam3;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Koeh Sò͘-sim;Pha̍k-fa-sṳ:Kwo̍k Su-tshim; born 31 March 1964) is aMalaysianpolitician who has served as Deputy Chairperson of thePublic Accounts Committee (PAC) since July 2024 and theMember of Parliament (MP) forSeputeh since November 1999. She served as theMinister of Primary Industries in thePakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020 and Senior Member of theSelangor State Executive Council (EXCO) in thePakatan Rakyat (PR) state administration under former Menteri BesarKhalid Ibrahim as well as Member of theSelangor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) forKinrara from March 2008 to May 2013. She is a member of theDemocratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the PH coalition.
Born and raised inKuala Lumpur, Teresa is a third generationMalaysian of Chinese descent. Kok is a member of theHakka dialect group and her ancestors were fromHuizhou, Guangdong Province, China. She commandsMalay, English and Chinese Languages with fluency in Hakka and Cantonese dialects. Kok is aCatholic by religion.[1]
She graduated with a Bachelor of Communication fromUniversiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 1990, and obtained a Master of Philosophy from University of Malaya. Her thesis was onUnited Malays National Organization (UMNO), titled"Factionalism in Umno During Dr Mahathir's Era (1981–2001)".
Kok writes in weekly column for Chinese newspaperSin Chew Daily. In 2004, she published a book compiling articles she wrote for the then Chinese daily.
Kok was political secretary to Opposition LeaderLim Kit Siang from 1990 to 1995.In1995 general election, she contested theIpoh Barat Parliamentary seat on a DAP ticket but was defeated by theMalaysian Chinese Association (MCA) candidate. Kok resigned as political secretary after that to further her studies and worked part-time at the Secretariat of the Political Leaders Network Promoting Democracy in Burma (PD Burma) from 1996 till 1998.
In the1999 general election, Kok won the Parliamentary seat ofSeputeh inKuala Lumpur with a majority of 5,200 and was re-elected in 2004 with a majority of 12,895, the largest winning margin among the 13 elected DAP MPs.
In the2008 general election, Kok retained the Seputeh seat with a majority of 36,492, the largest majority in any constituency and won theKinrara seat inSelangor State Legislative Assembly at the same time. She was elected in the newSelangor State Executive Council, and was named senior executive councillor who was put in charge of investment, trade and industry to ensure all funds are directed to Malaysians.
In the2013 general election, she won re-election to Parliament, garnering over 86 percent of the formal votes cast in her Seputeh constituency.
Kok was re-elected to Seputeh seat for the fifth term in the2018 general election but on the ticket ofPeople's Justice Party (PKR) as the move of Pakatan Harapan using a common symbol in the election.
In view of the bad market of palm oil, she launches few palm oil drinking campaign to boost the market demand on the palm oil and further inviting local tour guide to become the ambassadors for palm oil.[2]
In 2008, she was arrested under theInternal Security Act (ISA). Under the act, the police have no obligation to disclose the alleged offence if any at all. The Malay newspaperUtusan Malaysia had reported she had "advised" a mosque inPuchong not to use loudspeakers while making theazan. She denied the allegation.[3] It was found out later that a faulty loudspeaker system was the reason why the mosque did not broadcast the azan.[4] Furthermore, while there was a petition sent to the mosque, the petition requested for the mosque to lower the volume during 'ceramah' or sermons and not during the azan.[5] The administrator of the mosque, as well as the petitioners, confirmed that Kok was not involved in the petition.[6] She was released on 19 September 2008.[7][8] On 27 September, twoMolotov cocktails were thrown into the compound of her family residence, accompanied by a warning letter. No one was hurt.[9]
In May 2014, Kok was charged with sedition for making aChinese New Year video posted onYouTube which allegedly contained seditious elements. Kok was among the first of several other opposition politicians to be caught ina nationwide sedition dragnet.[10][11]
On 26 February 2022, during a speech for the2022 Johor state election, Kok asked the police to allow them to speak for 30 more minutes. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, speeches in the electoral campaign can only be 2 hours. Kok stated that they started the speech late at 8:30pm, so they should have 2 hours till 10:30pm, but the police in charge of the speech rejected her request. After that, she said that ifPakatan Harapan is the government, they won't set such restrictions and "warned" the police to be careful.[12] On 2 March 2022, she stated that the MCA dinner nearby had disrupted them, therefore making them starting the speech 30 minutes later. Also, she stated that the police refused them to extend the speech for 30 minutes as they are the opposition.[13]
On 7 September 2024, Kok voiced her opposition to the proposal by theMalaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to make the halal certification compulsory for restaurants and food establishments that do not serve pork or alcohol. Kok said that this could be a burden to small businesses and restricts consumer freedom. Her opposition was met with fierce criticisms, withUMNO Youth ChiefMuhamad Akmal Saleh likening Kok to as 'nyonya tua' and sarcastically called for the government to create a non-halal logo and paste on Kok's forehead as well as asking Kok to keep quiet if she did not understand the proposal. Opposition politicians fromPerikatan Nasional (PN) also slammed Kok for playing up with sensitive and religious issues involvingIslam. More than 20 police reports were also lodged against Kok's statement. Prime MinisterAnwar Ibrahim clarified that Kok's stance is not similar to that of PH and described Kok's comments as unnecessary. However, several politicians such asMinister of Transport and DAP Secretary-GeneralAnthony Loke Siew Fook, formerMinister in the Prime Minister's DepartmentZaid Ibrahim and formerDeputy Chief Minister of Penang IIRamasamy Palanisamy defended Kok, arguing that Kok was just carrying out her responsibility as an MP as well as speaking and expressing the concerns on behalf of the people especially the non-Muslims. Kok later has her statement recorded in the police headquarters. With the presence of her party leaders and supporters such as DAP National ChairmanLim Guan Eng, they reiterated their previous arguments in shield of Kok. Lim also reaffirmed the party's full support for her in a press conference held shortly after recording her statement.
Despite the criticism fromactivists back home, Teresa Kok kept up with herpalm oilactivism despite narrow scares at theballot box. Thepalm oil industry reciprocated her support by providing indirect campaign support and this drew further brickbats from critics. She admonished member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), should support one another against outside threats to an industry as important to the region as palm oil.[14] Teresa Kok also opposedWorld Health Organization (WHO) advice to adult to avoid palm oil in their diet during the Covid-19 outbreak and use alternatives such as olive oil.[15]
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | N30Kinrara | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP) | 12,990 | 64.11% | Kow Cheong Wei (MCA) | 7,251 | 35.79% | 20,517 | 5,739 | 79.31% | ||
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | P062Ipoh Barat | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP) | 19,747 | 44.51% | Ho Cheong Sing (MCA) | 24,616 | 55.49% | 45,693 | 4,869 | 68.71% | ||
| 1999 | P110Seputeh | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP) | 28,657 | 54.33% | Sua Chong Keh (MCA) | 23,457 | 44.47% | 52,995 | 5,200 | 73.59% | ||
| Liew Ah Kim (MDP) | 457 | 0.87% | ||||||||||
| Duraichelvan Murugeson (IND) | 134 | 0.25% | ||||||||||
| 2004 | P122Seputeh | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP) | 33,197 | 62.29% | Banie Chin Yen Foo (MCA) | 20,302 | 37.56% | 53,499 | 12,895 | 62.29% | ||
| 2008 | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP) | 47,230 | 81.38% | Carol Chew Chee Lin (MCA) | 10,738 | 18.50% | 58,207 | 36,492 | 75.70% | |||
| 2013 | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP) | 61,500 | 85.95% | Nicole Wong Siaw Ting (MCA) | 9,948 | 13.90% | 71,859 | 51,552 | 83.58% | |||
| 2018 | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP) | 63,094 | 89.97% | Chan Quin Er (MCA) | 7,035 | 10.03% | 70,583 | 56,059 | 81.83% | |||
| 2022 | Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP) | 73,234 | 83.74% | Alan Wong Yee Yeng (Gerakan) | 6,047 | 6.91% | 88,107 | 67,187 | 70.60% | |||
| Lee Kah Hing (MCA) | 6,032 | 6.90% | ||||||||||
| Lee Wai Hong (IND) | 1,276 | 1.46% | ||||||||||
| Choy Sen Yeh @ Lian Choy Ling (IND) | 865 | 0.99% | ||||||||||
Malaysia :
Recipient of the17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byas Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities | Minister of Primary Industries (Malaysia) 2 July 2018–24 February 2020 | Succeeded byas Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities |
| Parliament of Malaysia | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSeputeh 20 December 1999–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
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