HOURS after lawyer Wee Choo Keong  lost his Bukit Bintang parliamentary  seat in a court hearing last week, he  turned up for a dinner organised by  the hawkers at Chow Kit.

The dinner, held in conjunction with  the
Feast of the Hungry Ghost, has  always
been considered compulsory  for Chinese
politicians in the city.

Also present was his rival, Barisan 
Nasional's DrLee Chong Meng, who 
had just been declared the new MP.

Not to be out-done by Wee who took  the
opportunity to speak at the dinner,  Dr
Lee called an impromptu press  conference
and declared that he could  do better
than the DAP man.

"Don't pass judgment on me. Give  me a
chance, I think I can do better,''  said
the veterinary doctor, popularly 
referred to as Dr Ayam.

Dr Lee who had, in fact, expected  the
High Court to call for a by-election after the disqualification of Wee,  had formed a by-election steering  committee last month.

The 45-year-old leader, who carries  two
handphones and maintains three 
telephones at his service centre at Setapak, is upset to be called an "appointed MP'' and MP Mahkamah by  DAP
supporters.

His more cynical opponents said his  was
a victory without honour while  one
commentator wrote in a national  daily
that "this is a victory for the  Barisan
Nasional but one which is uncomfortably close to a technical victory and which
is not easy to be triumphant about.''

During the April general election,  Wee
polled 20,403 votes against Dr  Lee's
14,857 in a three-cornered fight. 
Independent Teng Chong Khim managed 123 votes.

Dr Lee said he had been serving the 
people over the last four years and his 
priorities were "to let the people in 
Kuala Lumpur feel the difference between a DAP and Barisan MP.

"I acknowledge the fact that (Datuk)LeeLam Thye was a good MP but  the area was neglected after Wee took  over. He antagonised City Hall instead of
working with them,'' he said.

He insisted that all his telephone 
numbers be published to make himself accessible.

The morning after the dinner, Wee  turned
up at his Pudu service centre  to hold a
press conference.

Accompanied by three DAP MPS   Dr Tan
Seng Giaw (Kepong), Tan Kok  Wai
(Cheras), andLiew Ah Kim (Seputeh)  Wee
vowed to carry on the  fight.

The centre, manned by two assistants, is located at a run-down flat  near the Pudu wet-market.

"The service centre will continue.  My
doors are open to the people and  the
other MPs will share the burden,''  said
the youthful-looking bachelor.

Wee, still visibly upset at the court 
decision, said he wanted to see how Dr 
Lee could resolve the problems of his 
constituents.

"As far as I am concerned, the people elected me. There's nothing much  we can do about the court decision.

"Perhaps, the people can express  their
unhappiness through the ballot  box the
next round.''

The court decision is certainly bitter for the DAP to swallow. Under  Section 33 of the Election Offences  Act, no appeal is allowed.

The decision to declare a losing candidate as the winner following the
disqualification of an elected MP is said 
to be without precedent in Malaysia.

No lawyer or politician could recall  a
similar case. Those interviewed said  it
was probably the first in Malaysian 
political and legal history.

For the DAP, it's another blow. The  loss
of Bukit Bintang, a seat it had  held for
the last 25 years, has reduced  its
representation in the Dewan Rakyat from nine seats to eight.

Its Bagan parliamentary seat in Penang is in the balance following the  death of P. Patto, the party's deputy  secretary-general. The Barisan has  also petitioned for a recount of the  votes in the constituency won by  Patto.

Said DAP secretary-general Lim Kit Siang: "It would appear that the Barisan
can't win at the hustings but can  win at
the courts. There's no need for  the
Barisan to work as they get two  bites of
the cherry.''

Urging Malaysians to ponder long  on the
Malaysian electoral process, he 
described the decision as "the latest 
in a series of blows.''

But as Lim licked the wounds, the  man of
the hour, Dr Lee, pledged to  turn Bukit
Bintang into a model constituency. "The DAP's brash style is  over. Malaysians want more than just  rhetoric now,'' he said.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik pointed out that Wee was  convicted in a court and fined  RM7,000.

"The law says anyone fined more  than
RM2,000 cannot stand for election. Its good news for the Barisan  that we add one more voice of the  people in Parliament,'' he said.

Wee, he said, was a lawyer and he  knew
he was not eligible and that was  why he
brought an insurance candidate along to the nomination centre.

But DAP Socialist Youth chief Lim Guan Eng said the High Court decision was a
mockery of the voters'  choice and a
travesty of democracy.

For the voters of Bukit Bintang, the 
fact remains that they now have to 
cope with a Member of Parliament 
they did not vote into office.

For Dr Lee, it's time to prove his  worth
and to let time shed his image  as an
appointed, rather than elected, 
MP.

ONE would have expected that  with all
the promises of more  transparency during
the recent  general election that the
Fourth Estate would at least have greater access to information. This
appears  not to be the case.

Beginning June 12, reporters will  not be
allowed to mingle with the  newly elected
wakil rakyat in the  hallowed lobby of
Parliament  House.

Their movements will be restricted to the Dewan Rakyat,
the  press room, a room next to the
the  banquet hall on the second floor
for  interviews, and, of course, the
always-crowded canteen.

Up to late Friday afternoon,  there was
no official announcement of the new ruling. It was only  Saturday morning that the Information
Ministry issued a two-page  press release
on the matter.

It is not clear whether reporters  can
still make their way to the Dewan Rakyat office to pick up copies  of the seating arrangement and any  Bills tabled for debate.

Also, the press will now have to  use the
rear entrance to the building  reserved
for tradesmen in  the tradition of
yore.

Although the Dewan Rakyat and  Dewan
Negara are the designated  areas for
serious public business  what is
witnessed, more often than  not, is the
art of sandiwara.

It is in the lobby that the exchange of information between  government and opposition MPs  takes place 
under the watchful  eyes of the
media if not within their  earshot.

The new ruling has caught almost all MPs and reporters by surprise, and initial
inquries to former  Dewan Rakyat speaker
Tan Sri Zahir Ismail and his deputy, Ong Tee 
Keat, drew a blank.

Zahir only commented on the  new ruling
after The Star went  back to him with
more details on  Friday.

Apart from the canteen, the lobby has always been the favourite  meeting place for MPs, government officials,
and the press during  the debate
sessions.

Most MPs head for the lobby or  canteen
immediately after "question time'' is over and only go back  after half or one hour's break.

In the past, MPs, pressmen and  even
ministers exchanged information openly in the corridors, the  canteen and at the lobby.

The lobby is where MPs congregate as they enter and leave Dewan  Rakyat.It is in the lobby that reporters get
access to ministers,  deputy ministers,
and government  officials who are
otherwise inaccessible.

The Prime Minister's Department and the Home Ministry, for  example, have very tight security,  and a reporter cannot just walk in  to meet a minister or an official for  informal chats.

The new ruling is also going to  make it
hard for reporters inside  the Dewan to
clarify points raised  by ministers,
deputy ministers,  parliamentary
secretaries, and  MPs during the
question-and-answer session or the debate.

Zahir said that reporters could  make
known their desire to meet  any minister
or MP by sending him  a note through the
ushers.

This is being done already. But  what
happens if the MP walks out  soon after
his speech or before the  usher is able
to pass him or her the  note?

And like other Commonwealth  parliament
practices, whenever  government or
opposition MPs  stage a walkout, it is
the lobby they  head for. Or what happens
when  the sitting is adjourned for a few  minutes to allow MPs embroiled in  a heated exchange to cool off?

If the argument spills out, as has 
happened before, into the lobby 
during the "cooling-off period,'' it 
will remain a well-kept secret because this exchange will not be
recorded in the Hansard.

TV stations will lose its spontaneity edge of recording a fight in progress if
limited to showing an interview with an MP who witnessed the  verbal or physical exchange.

Former DAP MPLeeLam Thye  and former
deputy labour minister  Datuk K.
Pathmanaban once continued their heated argument at the  lobby after they had thrown challenges to
each other inside the Dewan.

As fellow MPs rushed to the lobby, with some heckling Pathmanaban, then law
minister Datuk Syed  Hamid Albar tried to
pacifyLee  and Pathmanaban, both usually
noted for their moderation and cool.

It is such drama and excitement  that
makes Dewan Rakyat a lively  place for
Malaysian politics.

More recently, Kota Melaka MP  Lim Guan
Eng brought to the lobby  the grandmother
of the schoolgirl  involved in a
political controversy.

It is unclear whether reporters  will be
given a reprieve during the  year-end
tabling of the Budget  where they have
historically been  able to seek the
reactions of MPs,  particularly heads of
parties, on  the Budget.

No one, including Zahir, is prepared to say how this ruling came  about and why was it necessary.  The press release by the Information Ministry
does not give any reasons either.

In his six years as the MP for  Ampang
Jaya, former Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Ong said he  had not come across a situation  where a reporter had caused trouble in the
lobby.

Asked whether it is perhaps to  prevent
the harassment of MPs,  Ong said: "Harassment for an MP  happens anywhere,
even in a washroom.''

Asked whether the wakil rakyat  should be
protected from the press,  seeing as the
public have to apply  for permission to
attend the meetings and are restricted to the gallery and the canteen, he said: "As  far as I'm concerned, the
public  and reporters should have
access  to the MPs even if a question
posed  is not palatable.''

Other MPs have speculated that  the move
is to discourage certain  lobbyists who
take the opportunity  to seek favours
from ministers at  the lobby.

Zahir said that one of the objections by certain MPs to the presence of
reporters in the lobby was  that they
were often seen sitting on  the sofas
meant for MPs.

If reporters have occupied the  sofas,
they have ventured into the  area
specifically marked "For MPs  Only''
where the sofas are hidden  behind
screens and telephones are  provided for
the use of the MPs.

They only enter that hallowed  ground if
invited by an MP.

It is a sad day when MPs can  "buttonhole'' reporters in the restricted zones, but the Executive  and other wakil rakyat can dodge  questions in turn.