Thomas Su Keong Siong

Thomas Su Keong Siong (simplified Chinese: 苏建祥; traditional Chinese: 蘇建祥; pinyin: Sū Jiànxiáng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: So͘ Kiàn-siông) is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the Member of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Ketari since November 2022. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kampar from May 2018 to November 2022, for Ipoh Timor from May 2013 to May 2018, Member of the Perak State Executive Council (EXCO) in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state administration under former Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin from March 2008 to the collapse of the PR state administration in February 2009 and Perak MLA for Pasir Pinji from March 2004 to May 2013.[2][3] He is a member of Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. He is also a member of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the DAP.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Su (苏).
Yang Berhormat Tuan
Thomas Su Keong Siong
MLA
苏建祥
Member of the
Perak State Executive Council
(Higher Education, Science, Technology and Communications)
In office
28 March 2008 – 10 February 2009
MonarchAzlan Shah
Menteri BesarMohammad Nizar Jamaluddin
Preceded byZambry Abdul Kadir
(Higher Education, Science and Technology)
Ho Cheng Wang (Communications)
Succeeded byMohamad Zahir Abdul Khalid
(Higher Education, Science and Technology)
Hamidah Osman (Communications)
ConstituencyPasir Pinji
Member of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly
for Ketari
Assumed office
19 November 2022
Preceded byYoung Syefura Othman
(PH–DAP)
Majority120 (2022)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Kampar
In office
9 May 2018 – 19 November 2022
Preceded byKo Chung Sen
(PR–DAP)
Succeeded byChong Zhemin
(PH–DAP)
Majority11,801 (2018)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Ipoh Timor
In office
5 May 2013 – 9 May 2018
Preceded byLim Kit Siang
(PR–DAP)
Succeeded byWong Kah Woh
(PH–DAP)
Majority34,000 (2013)
Member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly
for Pasir Pinji
In office
21 March 2004 – 5 May 2013
Preceded byCham Kam
(BN–MCA)
Succeeded byLee Chuan How
(PR–DAP)
Majority2,841 (2004)
6,339 (2008)
Faction represented in Pahang State Legislative Assembly
2022–Pakatan Harapan
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
2013–2018Democratic Action Party
2018–2022Pakatan Harapan
Faction represented in Perak State Legislative Assembly
2004–2013Democratic Action Party
Personal details
Born
Thomas Su Keong Siong

(1966-09-18) 18 September 1966[1]
Sitiawan, Perak, Malaysia
CitizenshipMalaysian
Political partyDemocratic Action Party (DAP)
Other political
affiliations		Pakatan Harapan (PH)
Pakatan Rakyat (PR)
Barisan Alternatif (BA)
Alma materUniversity of Wolverhampton
OccupationLawyer
Politician

Earlier career

A Lawyer by profession, he earned an LL.M. cum laude from University of Wolverhampton before returning to Malaysia to work for C K LEONG & CO. in Ipoh. He was admitted to the Malaysian bar in 1994.[4]

Political career

Su first involved in politics when he contested but lost as DAP candidate in 1999 for the state seat of Malim Nawar in Perak. He however was elected to the Perak State Assembly in 2004 and again in 2008 for the constituency of Pasir Pinji in Perak. During the short Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition rules of Perak, he was elected as an exco member in the state government led by Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin in 2008. In the 2013 election Su won the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat and succeeded incumbent Lim Kit Siang as its MP, who contested in Gelang Patah in Johor. In the 2018 election Su contested and won the Kampar parliamentary seat instead. Su change seat again in 2022, this time for Pahang State Assembly seat Ketari, replacing incumbent Young Syefura Othman who contested the federal seat of Bentong instead. Su won the seat with a slim majority of 120 votes, defeating the Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional candidates.

Controversy

In 2013, he was charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 with starting a peaceful assembly "without prior notice". Prior to a ruling on these charges, a 2014 ruling by the Court of Appeal found the law's requirement of giving ten-day prior notice before holding a peaceful assembly unconstitutional, and Su applied for the charges to be dismissed accordingly.[5] He was ultimately given a discharge not amounting to acquittal. Without an acquittal, Su was later charged again for the same alleged offense in 2016. In 2018 the Sessions Court acquitted Su after the Attorney General's Chambers withdrew the charges. According to Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran, the then recently-elected Pakatan Harapan government had instructed the Attorney General to review Section 9(1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which was the provision under which Su had been charged. Su's lead counsel Ramkarpal Singh called Su's acquittal a positive step towards abolishing that provision, which he said "curtails freedom of speech."[6]

Election results
Perak State Legislative Assembly[7][8]
Year Constituency Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1999 N39 Malim Nawar, P70 Kampar Thomas Su Keong Siong (DAP) 4,699 30.56% Lee Chee Leong (MCA) 10,678 69.44% N/A 5,979 61.90%
2004 N27 Pasir Pinji, P64 Ipoh Timor Thomas Su Keong Siong (DAP) 9,633 56.92% Cham Kam (MCA) 6,792 40.13% 16,923 2,841 69.78%
2008 Thomas Su Keong Siong (DAP) 12,526 65.76% Khoo Boon Chuan (MCA) 6,187 32.48% 19,047 6,339 71.65%
Parliament of Malaysia[8][9][10][11][12][13]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 P64 Ipoh Timor, Perak. Thomas Su Keong Siong (DAP) 49,086 75.24% Kathleen Wong Mei Yin (MCA) 15,086 23.13% 65,217 34,000 79.70%
2018 P70 Kampar, Perak. Thomas Su Keong Siong (DAP) 30,216 57.56% Lee Chee Leong (MCA) 18,415 35.08% 53,567 11,801 77.15%
Yougan Mahalingam (PAS) 3,864 7.36%
Pahang State Legislative Assembly[14]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2022 N34 Ketari Thomas Su Keong Siong (DAP) 9,722 41.17% Amizar Abu Adam (UMNO) 9,602 40.66% 23,614 120 76.77%
William Tan Wei Leong (GERAKAN) 4,290 18.17%

References
  1. Chan, Li Leen (26 April 2008). "Rep not used to the attention". The Star. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  2. "Su Keong Siong, YB". Parlimen Malaysia. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  3. "YB Su Keong Siong". Kuasa. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  4. "About SU KEONG SIONG". Malaysian Bar. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  5. Kaur, Manjit (4 May 2014). "May 16 decision on Ipoh Timor MP's bid to throw out charge under Peaceful Assembly Act". The Star. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  6. Looi, Sylvia (27 July 2018). "Kampar MP acquitted of illegally organising rally". Malay Mail. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  7. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  8. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  9. "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  10. "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.
  11. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  12. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  13. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  14. "Keputusan:Pilihan Raya Umum Malaysia Ke-15". Astro Awani. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
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