Jeff Ooi

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Jeff Ooi
黄泉安
Jeff Ooi (square crop).jpg
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Jelutong, Penang
In office
8 March 2008 – 10 May 2018
Preceded byLee Kah Choon (Gerakan-BN)
Succeeded byRSN Rayer (DAP-PH)
Majority16,246 (2008), 25,750 (2013)
Personal details
Born
Ooi Chuan Aun

(1955-11-02) 2 November 1955 (age 65)
Kedah, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
CitizenshipMalaysian
Political partyDemocratic Action Party (Malaysia) (DAP)
Other political
affiliations		Pakatan Harapan (PH)
Pakatan Rakyat (PR)
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.jeffooi.com

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, blogger, photographer and politician. He was the two-term Member of Parliament for Jelutong in Penang (2008-2018).

Early life[]

Ooi is from a small town in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah. He was brought up among rural teenagers and is trilingual, 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, covering current issues relating to Malaysia, mainly on politics. From time to time, it also touches on international news and photography.

Jeff Ooi's blog was described as "Malaysia's Most Influential Blog" by Malaysiakini, a local online news publication known for its different stance to the mainstream media. In 2005, Screenshots won in the Asia category of the Freedom Blogs Awards given by Reporters Without Borders.[3]

Ooi is also the administrator at a photography forum called Lensa Malaysia, which receives 200,000-page views per month. He is also the founder and administrator of UEP Subang Jaya and Subang Jaya's 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 Lemang, coconut-flavoured sticky rice stuffed in a bamboo container]] traditionally prepared by Malays.

Lawsuit[]

On 11 January 2007, Ooi, alongside Ahirudin Attan, was sued by the New Straits Times Press (NSTP).[6] The Malaysian court ordered Ooi to remove more than 10 posts on his blog that the NSTP claimed were libellous by 17 January. Ooi was prohibited from republishing the posts on his blog or anywhere else on the internet until the resolution of the defamation suit. The lawsuits were the first of their kind in Malaysia.[7] Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi defended the legal action launched against Ooi, saying the Internet was not exempt from defamation laws.[8] This lawsuit spawned the 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.

Entry into politics[]

In 2006, it was reported by The Star, a local English language daily, that Ooi was among several local bloggers being approached 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 ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government, stated that it was "too premature at this point" for him to consider entering active politics.[9]

He joined DAP on 31 July 2007.[10] Ooi stood as a DAP candidate in the 2008 general election for a seat in Jelutong, Penang,[11][12] which he won by 16,246 votes. He retained his seat in the 2013 general election.

Ooi was dropped by DAP as a candidate in the 2018 general election.[13]

Controversy[]

In early August 2009, Jeff Ooi labelled Mohd Razali Abdullah, a Penang Municipal councillor, an Islamic extremist. This caused a public scandal, especially from within the Muslim community, because Razali was a member of Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM), a registered organisation with close ties with Ooi's own party's youth wing, the Penang DAP Socialist Youth.[14] His comments were interpreted as claiming that Syariah Law was extreme and that Muslims are extremists. The Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, ordered Ooi to retract his statements and apologise publicly, which Ooi eventually did after initially refusing. However, he did not offer an apology and continued criticising Razali, calling him "a political burden to the state government".[15] The Islamic religious leaders association of Penang (Persatuan Ulama' Malaysia cawangan Pulau Pinang) subsequently launched a petition to demand that Ooi resign from office for his comments about Muslims and Islam in Malaysia.[16]

Election results[]

Parliament of Malaysia[17][18]
Year Constituency Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2008 P50 Jelutong, Penang Ooi Chuan Aun (DAP) 30,493 67% Thor Teong Gee (Gerakan) 14,247 31% 46,406 16,246 76.85%
Badrul Zaman P.S. Md Zakariah (IND) 882 2%
2013 Ooi Chuan Aun (DAP) 43,211 70% Ng Fook On (Gerakan) 17,461 28% 61,725 25,750 86.64%

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Puah, Pauline (18 January 2007). NST sues Jeff Ooi, Rocky for defamation Archived 21 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Sun.
  2. ^ "Election strategist among new faces". The Star Online. 12 February 2008. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
  3. ^ Blogs lauded in 'freedom awards'. (17 June 2005). BBC News.
  4. ^ "USJ-Subang Jaya e-Community Frontpage". usj.com.my.
  5. ^ "Lemak Lemang - Blogs - CNET Asia". 25 February 2007. Archived from the original on 25 February 2007.
  6. ^ Ooi, Jeff (18 January 2006). Bloggers sued in Malaysia Archived 20 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Screenshots.
  7. ^ "Court gags Malaysian blogger". Archived from the original on 23 January 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
  8. ^ "Malaysian PM defends legal action against bloggers". Archived from the original on 26 January 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2007.
  9. ^ Tan, Joceline (26 November 2006). Cyberspace talent search. The Star.
  10. ^ Media statement by Jeff Ooi, DAP Malaysia, 31 July 2007.
  11. ^ "Screenshots: Jelutong". Ooi, Jeff. 21 February 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  12. ^ Lim, Ai Lee (14 February 2008). "DAP rockets into Penang eyeing seven parliamentary seats". The Star. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008.
  13. ^ K. Suthakar and Arnold Loh (21 April 2018). "DAP six face the axe". The Star. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Retract statement, Jemaah Islah Malaysia tells Ooi". www.thestar.com.my. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  15. ^ "MP urged to apologise for calling JIM an 'extremist organisation'". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  16. ^ "Signature campaign demanding Jeff Ooi to resign". 9 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen 2013" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.

External links[]

Media related to Jeff Ooi at Wikimedia Commons

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