Jeff Ooi
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (December 2007) |
Jeff Ooi | |
|---|---|
| 黄泉安 | |
.jpg) | |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Jelutong, Penang | |
| In office 8 March 2008 – 10 May 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Lee Kah Choon (MCA-BN) |
| Succeeded by | RSN Rayer (DAP-PH) |
| Majority | 16,246 (2008), 25,750 (2013) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ooi Chuan Aun 2 November 1955 Kedah, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) |
| Citizenship | Malaysian |
| Political party | DAP – Pakatan Harapan |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | www |
Ooi Chuan Aun[1] (simplified Chinese: 黄泉安; traditional Chinese: 黃泉安; pinyin: Huáng Quán Ān; born 2 November 1955[2]), better known as Jeff Ooi, is a Malaysian IT consultant by profession, an ex-blogger, photographer and politician. He was the two-term Member of Parliament for Jelutong in Penang (2008-2018).
He is from a small town in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah. He was brought up among rural teenagers and is trilingual, being fluent in Mandarin, English and Malay.
Internet activity
Jeff Ooi used to write a blog known as "Screenshots..." which he started on 2 January 2003. It covers current issues relating to Malaysia, mainly on politics. From time to time, it also touches on international news and photography.
Jeff Ooi's blog has been dubbed "Malaysia's Most Influential Blog" by Malaysiakini, a local online news publication known for its difference in stance with the mainstream media. In 2005, Screenshots won the Asia category of the Freedom Blogs Awards given by Reporters Without Borders.[3]
Jeff Ooi also administrates a photography forum called Lensa Malaysia, which receives 200,000-page views per month. He is also the founder and administrator of USJ and Subang Jaya's own community forum usj.com.my,[4] and was hired by CNET Asia as a tech blogger alongside other CNET Asia bloggers. He named his CNET Asia blog Lemak Lemang,[5] a reference to coconut-flavoured sticky rice stuffed in a bamboo container traditionally prepared by Malays.
Entry into politics
In 2006, it was reported by The Star, a local English language daily, that Ooi was among several local bloggers being wooed by the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) to run for public office. Ooi, who was at the time a member of Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Malaysian People's Movement), a major party in the then ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government, stated that "it's too premature at this point" for him to consider entering active politics.[6]
He joined DAP on 31 July 2007.[7] Ooi contested as a DAP candidate in 2008 general election for a seat in Jelutong, Penang,[8][9] which he won by a majority margin of 16,246 votes.[10] He retained his seat in the 2013 general election.
Ooi was dropped by DAP as a candidate in the 2018 general election.[11]
Election results
| Year | Opposition | Votes | Pct | Government | Votes | Pct | Others | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Ooi Chuan Aun (DAP) | 30,493 | 67% | Thor Teong Gee (Gerakan) | 14,247 | 31% | Badrul Zaman P.S. Md Zakariah (IND) | 882 | 2% | 46,406 | 16,246 | 76.85% | |||
| 2013 | Ooi Chuan Aun (DAP) | 43,211 | 70% | Ng Fook On (Gerakan) | 17,461 | 28% | 61,725 | 25,750 | 86.64% | ||||||
Lawsuit
On 11 January 2007, Ooi, alongside Ahirudin Attan, was sued by the New Straits Times Press.[14] The Malaysian court ordered Ooi to remove more than 10 postings on his blog that the NSTP claimed were libellous by 17 January. Ooi was prohibited from republishing those postings in his blog or on the internet until the resolution of the defamation suit filed by New Straits Times Press (NSTP). The lawsuits were the first of their kind in Malaysia.[15] Then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi defended the legal action launched against Ooi, saying the Internet was not exempt from defamation laws.[16] This lawsuit spawned the Bloggers United campaign to defend bloggers and freedom of expression. Jeff Ooi and Ahirudin chose to defend themselves in court. The situation resulted in various newspapers covering Malaysian blogging. A fund was also set up to protect bloggers and support their activities.
Controversy
Jeff Ooi called Mohd Razali Abdullah, a Penang Municipal councillor, an Islamic extremist. This has caused public furore especially from the Muslim community because while Razali is a member of Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM), the organisation itself is a registered body and has a close tie with Ooi's party's youth wing, Penang DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy). It gave the impression that Syariah Law is extreme and Muslims are extremists. Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng has ordered Ooi to retract his statements and apologise publicly. Ooi finally withdrew his statements after denying previous calls by certain parties, as an adherence to his superior's order. However, he did not offer any apology. He continued on criticising Razali.[17] The Islamic religious leaders association of Penang (Persatuan Ulama' Malaysia cawangan Pulau Pinang) has launched a signature campaign to the public to support the demand Jeff Ooi to resign from office for his demeaning remarks on Muslims and Islam in Malaysia.[18]
See also
References
- ^ Puah, Pauline (18 January 2007). NST sues Jeff Ooi, Rocky for defamation Archived 21 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Sun.
- ^ "Election strategist among new faces". The Star Online. 12 February 2008. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Blogs lauded in 'freedom awards'. (17 June 2005). BBC News.
- ^ "USJ-Subang Jaya e-Community Frontpage". usj.com.my.
- ^ "Lemak Lemang - Blogs - CNET Asia". 25 February 2007.
- ^ Tan, Joceline (26 November 2006). Cyberspace talent search. The Star.
- ^ Media statement by Jeff Ooi, DAP Malaysia, 31 July 2007.
- ^ "Screenshots: Jelutong". Ooi, Jeff. 21 February 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Lim, Ai Lee (14 February 2008). "DAP rockets into Penang eyeing seven parliamentary seats". The Star. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ http://malaysiakini.x10hosting.com/
- ^ K. Suthakar and Arnold Loh (21 April 2018). "DAP six face the axe". The Star. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen 2013" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Ooi, Jeff (18 January 2006). Bloggers sued in Malaysia Archived 20 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Screenshots.
- ^ "Court gags Malaysian blogger". Archived from the original on 23 January 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Malaysian PM defends legal action against bloggers". Archived from the original on 26 January 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "MP urged to apologise for calling JIM an 'extremist organisation'". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Signature campaign demanding Jeff Ooi to resign". Retrieved 9 September 2009.
External links
Media related to Jeff Ooi at Wikimedia Commons