Tony Pua

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Pua (潘).

YB Petaling Jaya Utara Tuan Tony Pua Kiam Wee
File:Tony-pua1-july2.jpg
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara
Incumbent
Assumed office March 8, 2008
Preceded by	Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun - MCA (BN)
Majority	19,972
Personal details
Born	Batu Pahat, Johor
Political party	Democratic Action Party - Pakatan Rakyat
Occupation	Member of Parliament Financial Adviser
Website	Tony Pua

Tony Pua Kiam Wee (Chinese: 潘俭伟, born 1972) is a Malaysian politician, currently the Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara. Pua was the former Malaysian CEO of Cyber Village Sdn Bhd, a SESDAQ (SGX secondary board)-listed company. In early 2007, he disposed of all his interests in the company and tendered his resignation to join the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Pua graduated from Keble College, Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics under a scholarship from the MTC Foundation in 1994. Prior to that, he received Asean and Shaw Foundation scholarships to pursue his "O" and "A"-Levels in Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College.

In the 2008 general election, Pua won the Parliamentary constituency of Petaling Jaya Utara on a DAP ticket. He ran against the incumbent, Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry for Women, Family & Community Affairs, and Deputy Chief of the Malaysian Chinese Association women's wing. In 2009, Pua was appointed the DAP member of the Pakatan Rakyat committee on the Ministry of Higher Education, roughly equivalent to the shadow ministry in other countries.

Family

Pua is the eldest of four siblings. He grew up on the outskirts of Batu Pahat. His father ran a small poultry farm when Pua was growing up.

Education

Pua left home when he was 13 to do his secondary schooling in Singapore on an Asean scholarship from the Singapore government. He attended Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College. He then went on to Oxford University where he read PPE (philosophy, politics and economics) at Keble College on a MTC scholarship.

Early Career and Cyber Village

Pua worked for Andersen Consulting (now renamed Accenture) as a consultant after he graduated from Oxford. Two years later, in March 1997, he started Cyber Village when demand for e-business consultancy grew.

With his combined savings and those of his parents amounting to RM20,000 and another RM30,000 chipped in by three friends, he went ahead to open an office in Overseas Union Garden, Old Klang Road, KL with four staff.

In August 2001, Cyber Village became the first Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)-status company to list on the Singapore Dealing and Automated Quotation System (Sesdaq). Its public offer of 400,000 shares drew an over-subscription of approximately 2.7 times.

Bersih 1.0 Anniversary Vigil Arrest

On 9 November 2008, Tony Pua was amongst the 23 arrested during a candlelight vigil in Petaling Jaya to commemorate the first anniversary of the Bersih street demonstration. Pua, along with Kampung Tunky stateassemblyman, Lau Weng San, were allegedly manhandled by the police when they were arrested. Pua alleged that he was kicked, shoved and had his shirt torn by the Selangor police. Pua was released on police bail on the morning of 10 November 2008 and was later charged for illegal assembly.

Death Threat

On 10 August 2010, Tony Pua received a live 5.56mm bullet used in M-16s with a threatening note posted from Tangkak, Johor. The bullet and the note were mailed to his constituency service centre in Damansara Utama. The note stated that Pua should watch out and that the whereabouts of his family, his house and his car were known.

Pua stated that the threat was perhaps related to his proposal to the Selangor government to slash Bumiputera discounts for luxury homes and commercial property in the state, to improve competitiveness and restore investor confidence. His remarks resulted in 22 police reports against him lodged by Selangor Umno Youth who deemed the proposal provocative, although he had also added that the 7% discounts enjoyed by Malays and other Bumiputeras should be retained for homes below RM500,000.

SYABAS Suit

On 28 January 2011, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS) filed a lawsuit against Tony Pua claiming that he had permitted Nanyang Siang Pau's Metro edition to publish words defamatory of it. The article had quoted him saying that if the water concessionaires could not settle their debts, the state government should take over the rights of management of water supply in Selangor. Syabas claimed that with the publication of the report in the newspaper, the company had been brought into public scandal and its image had been tarnished. Besides seeking an injunction to prevent Pua or his agents from publishing defamatory words against the company, Syabas was also seeking general damages and cost.

Pua argued that Syabas, as a public authority performing a public service, had no locus standi in making a defamation claim. He also said that he had a legal, moral and social duty as an MP and a member of the Selangor government Water Review Panel to publish those words as the public had a right to know. Pua also filed a counter-suit, claiming that Syabas' suit was frivolous, vexatious and amounted to an abuse of the court process, which resulted in him suffering losses and unnecessary harassment and expenses.

Publications

The Tiger That Lost Its Roar, a tale of Malaysia's political economy.

2008 Election results

Year	Parliamentary seat	Votes Obtained	Majority	Ballots Cast	Opponent	Turnout
2008	P106 Petaling Jaya Utara	37,851	won by 19,972	56,257	Chew Mei Fun (BN - MCA)	73.47%

References

• "From cyber world to arena of politics". (Feb. 18, 2007). The Star (Malaysia).

External links

• Philosophy Politics Economics, Tony Pua's personal blog.
• EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA, an education-oriented blog written by Tony Pua and Kian Ming Ong.