| Yang Berhormat Puan Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Chinese : 郭素沁) |
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|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Seputeh |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 26, 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Liew Ah Kim |
| Member of the Selangor State Assembly for Kinrara |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office March 8, 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Dr. Kow Chong Wei |
| Majority | 5,739 |
| Selangor Senior Executive Councillor | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office March 8, 2008 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 March 1964 Kuala Lumpur |
| Political party | DAP - Pakatan Rakyat |
| Alma mater | Universiti Malaya Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| Occupation | Member of Parliament, Selongor State Legislative Member |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | TeresaKok.com |
Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Chinese: 郭素沁, born March 31, 1964) is a Malaysian Member of Parliament from the Democratic Action Party (DAP).
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Born and bred in Kuala Lumpur, Teresa is a second-generation Malaysian of Chinese descent. Kok is a member of the Hakka dialect group and her ancestors were from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China. She speaks Malay, English and Chinese fluently. Kok is a devoted Catholic.
She earned her first degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), graduating in the School of Communication, and; a second degree from University Malaya in political science, and a master of philosophy. Her thesis was on UMNO, titled "Factionalism in Umno During Dr Mahathir's Era (1981 - 2001)".
Kok was political secretary to Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang from 1990 to 1995. In 1995, she contested the Ipoh Barat Parliamentary seat on a DAP ticket but was defeated by the MCA candidate. Kok resigned as political secretary after that to further her studies.
In the 1999 General Elections, Kok won the Parliamentary seat of Seputeh in Kuala 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 the 2008 General Elections, Kok retained her Parliamentary seat of Seputeh in Kuala Lumpur with a majority of 36,492, the largest majority in any constituency. In the new Selangor executive council, she was named senior executive councillor and put in charge of investment, trade and industry to ensure all funds are directed to Malaysians.
Teresa was reelected into Central Executive Committee of DAP during the party's National Congress (23–24 August 2008) in Kuala Lumpur. She is currently the DAP National Organising Secretary, prior to this position she was DAP Publicity Secretary. She is also the National Secretary of DAP Wanita (the women's wing of the DAP) and a member of the DAP Disciplinary Committee. In Parliament, she was a member of the Select Committee on Review of Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code.
Kok is the Secretary of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC). She was an active lobbyist for Burmese democracy and human rights since 1996 when she was the Coordinator of Political Leaders Network Promoting Democracy in Burma (PD Burma) in Southeast Asian region.
Teresa Kok was arrested near OUG Heights at on Friday September 12, 2008 under Section 73 (1) of the Internal Security Act (ISA). Under the act, the police have no obligation to disclose the alleged offense if any at all.
Teresa Kok's arrest followed the arrests of prominent blogger activist Raja Petra Kamaruddin and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng (陈云清) from the Sin Chew Daily News earlier on that day.[1][2][3]
The Malay newspaper Utusan had reported Kok had "advised" a mosque in Puchong not to use loudspeakers while making the azan. Teresa Kok denied the allegation.[4] The Selangor state government was giving all parties involved in making the claim a week to issue a retraction and apology.[5]
It was found out later that a faulty loudspeaker system was the reason why the mosque did not broadcast the azan.[6] 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 azan.[7] The administrator of the mosque as well as the petitioners also confirmed that Kok was not involved in the petition.[8]
She was released on 19 September 2008.[9][10]
Immediately after her release, she was embroiled in a controversy in which she claimed the quality of food served to her during her incarceration was so bad that it was similar to dog food.[11] Utusan Malaysia reported her statement.[12] Kok claimed Utusan was manipulating her words, denied making that statement and instead insisted that she had said that the food was only slightly better than dog food.[13] She later admitted to making contradictory statements.[14]
Her complaint caused the government to investigate the quality of food served to detainees in Malaysian police lock-ups.[15]
On September 27, 2008, two Molotov cocktails were thrown into the family home of Seputeh MP Teresa Kok in Taman Rainbow, Jalan Ipoh. A warning letter containing threatening words and vulgarities was also attached to a bottle left outside the house. At the time, Teresa’s parents and her siblings were in the house, none were hurt in the incident. [1][16]
The Sun's journalist and columnist R. Nadeswaran and Terence Fernandez alleged that Teresa Kok and Ronnie Liu were organizing a meeting between Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (REDHA) and the Selangor Chief Minister Khalid Ibrahim to lobby a repeal of a moratorium on hill slope development in Selangor.[17][18] Kok denied the allegation and stated that it was only a meeting.[19]
In 2004, Kok published a book compiling articles she wrote for the then Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh. She continues to write a weekly column for the Chinese daily Sin Chew.
| Year | Parliamentary seat | Votes Obtained | Majority | Ballots Cast | Opponent | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | P110 Seputeh | 28,657 | won by 5,200 | 52,705 | Dr Sua Chong Keh (BN - MCA) Liew Ah Kim (Malaysian Democratic Party (MDP)) |
73.59 % |
| 2004 | P122 Seputeh | 33,197 | won by 12,895 | 53,718 | Chin Yen Foo (BN - MCA) | 71.91% |
| 2008 | P122 Seputeh | 47,230 | won by 36,492 | 58,207 | Carol Chew Chee Lin (BN - MCA) | 75.70% |
| Year | State Legislative Assembly seat | Votes Obtained | Majority | Ballots Cast | Opponent | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | P103 Puchong N30 Kinrara | 12,990 | won by 5,739 | 20,496 | Kow Cheong Wei (BN - MCA) | 79.31 % |
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