The Malaysian Insight

DAP candidate for the Sandakan by-election, Vivian Wong, has been trained in politics under her father, the seat’s late incumbent, and has enough experience to run as lawmaker for the parliamentary seat, a leader from the party’s Wanita wing said today.

DAP Wanita vice-chairman Hannah Yeoh said Vivian, who is 30, had worked for her father, Stephen Wong, as his special officer for a year when he was the Sabah health and wellbeing minister.

Before that, since she was 23, Vivian had accompanied her father, who was also the Sabah DAP chairman, on his political duties.

“I myself started in politics when I was 29-years old, while Vivian has for seven years been under the teaching of her father,” Yeoh, 40, said told reporters today in Sandakan.

She said this meant Wong’s exposure to active politics had begun when she was much younger, at 23.

Yeo, the Segambut MP and also deputy women, family and community development minister was responding to views that Wong was seen as inexperienced.

Her father died on March 28 of heart attack, triggering the by-election that will be held this Saturday. DAP had nominated Vivian to retain the federal seat for the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition.

Yeoh said youth was not a problem as DAP has a system in place to mentor younger party leaders, including women, and since 2008, the party has come out with many young leaders.

She said DAP has 41 MPs and 108 state assemblymen nationwide, 20% of whom are women and 30% are under 40 years old.

Of elected representatives under the age of 40, Yeoh said 40% of them were women. – May 7, 2019.