KLUANG-BORN Chew Chong Sin became the second Bersih 2.0 activist to join politics ahead of the 14^th general election.

Chew, who was unveiled at the DAP head office in Kuala Lumpur today, will be joining DAP in Johor.

The 45-year-old was unveiled by DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

This follows former Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah, who announced that she had joined politics and would contest a seat as an individual candidate but on a Pakatan Harapan party ticket.

However, it is not yet confirmed if Chew will be candidate.

Chew was born in Johor and currently runs his own education business in China, where he was formerly director of the UK-based BPP Professional Education.

He formed “Bersih Shanghai” in 2012 and has organised many forums for Malaysian civil society activists and political leaders to share their views with the Malaysian diaspora in Shanghai. 

Chew was a student activist at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and was active in the Civil Rights Committee (CRC) of The Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall after graduation, serving as the secretary during 1998-2004, before leaving for China.

During the 2013 elections, Chew returned to Malaysia to campaign for DAP in Kluang, his hometown. He also assisted other opposition candidates during the 1999 and 2004 elections. 

He is also a columnist at Oriental Daily’s “Mirror of Shanghai”, commenting on economic issues and current affairs.

He obtained his first degree in finance from UKM and holds an MBA from Universiti Malaya.

Liew said the party has not yet decided whether Chew will be a candidate in GE14.

“It has not been decided yet. And I wish to clarify that a certain online media got it wrong yesterday as Chew will not be contesting in Kluang,” said the DAP political education chief.

Chew said he decided to enter politics as he could not bear to see the “endless scandals” about Malaysia.

“This is not the Malaysia I know. The country should have a rule of law, with a fair system, led by a group of high quality politicians and an efficient public administration system.

“My family and I lived in Shanghai for more than 10 years where our observations overseas are always like a mirror. It made us think and reflect why Malaysia cannot achieve our full potential.

“We cannot just live in a virtual bubble and remain as a bystander and tolerate the grand corruption that is taking place.”

Maria welcomed her former Bersih colleague into the political arena.

“We need more people like him who are committed to the reform agenda,” she said. – March 20, 2018.

Present today were DAP Johor chief Liew Chin Tong, Maria, Penang Institute researcher Dr Wong Chin Huat and Damansara Utama state lawmaker Yeo Bee Yin.