Sim Tong Him (simplified Chinese: 沈同钦; traditional Chinese: 沈同欽; pinyin: Shěn Tóng Qīn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sím Tông-khim; born 8 September 1948) is a Malaysian politician. He is the former Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka, Malacca for two terms from 2008 to 2018. Presently Sim is an independent politician after his resignation from Democratic Action Party (DAP) in 2017.[1]
Sim Tong Him | |
|---|---|
| 沈同钦 | |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Kota Melaka, Malacca | |
| In office 2008–2018 | |
| Preceded by | Wong Nai Chee (MCA-BN) |
| Succeeded by | Khoo Poay Tiong (DAP-PH) |
| Majority | 11,390 (2008) 20,746 (2013) |
| Member of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly for Bandar Hilir | |
| In office 1995–2004 | |
| Preceded by | Gan Boon Leong (MCA-BN) |
| Succeeded by | Goh Leong San (DAP-PR) |
| Majority | 1,516 (1995) 2,064 (1999) |
| Member of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly for Tranquerah (Tengkera) | |
| In office 1986–1995 | |
| Preceded by | N/A |
| Succeeded by | Goh Leong San (DAP-BA) |
| Majority | 1,988 (1986) 3,135 (1990) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 September 1948 (76 years, 74 days) Malacca, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) |
| Citizenship | Malaysian |
| Political party | Independent (2017–present) Democratic Action Party (DAP) (1982–2017) |
| Children | 3 |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | www |
Background
editSim is a relative of the prominent Malaysian Chinese educationist Datuk Sim Mow Yu.[2]
Political career
editSim joined the DAP in 1982.[2] He contested the state constituency of Tranquerah, Malacca and won twice in 1986 general election and 1990 general election to become its assemblyman from 1986 to 1995 before switching to contest the state seat of Bandar Hilir, Malacca in 1995 general election and won again in the 1999 general election thus became its assemblyman from 1995 until 2004. In the 2004 general election, Sim contested the state seat of Ayer Keroh but lost.
Sim had been the DAP state chairman for Malacca until succeeded by Goh Leong San after a hotly contested internal state election on 19 December 2005, which also saw DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and his wife Betty Chew get the lowest number of votes out of 15 candidates, thus causing Chew to lose her seat on the Malacca DAP committee entirely.[3]
However he was chosen by DAP to contest the Kota Melaka parliamentary seat in the 2008 general election but he won by beating predecessor Wong Nai Chee of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) with a majority 11,390 vote and retained it again in the 2013 general election by beating Yee Kok Wah of MCA with a majority 20,746 vote. But on the 20 April nomination day of the election, beside registering as DAP official candidate to defend his Kota Melaka parliamentary seat, Sim made a surprise commotion by also registering to contest the Kota Laksamana state seat too but as an Independent against DAP candidate concurrently, causing DAP to initially expel him.[4] But only two days later on 22 April he announced his withdrawal as the state seat of Kota Laksamana Independent candidate to fully back the DAP candidate, Lai Keun Ban, instead and to focus to continue defend the Kota Melaka parliamentary seat under the DAP.[5] As preparation for the voting day on 5 May already done by the Election Commission (EC),[6] thus his candidacy still appeared on the ballots and managed to get 1,242 votes that finish last among three candidates and still had his deposit forfeited in the election.[7]
On 17 September 2015, a doctor from Malacca who is also the Bukit Palah DAP branch chairman, Dr Wong Fort Pin, successfully sued Sim and Goh for defamation and won RM300,000 in damages.[8] Both Sim and Goh party membership was suspended for one-year suspension on 16 February 2016, reportedly for disparaging the party.[9]
On 12 February 2017, Sim, along with three other DAP Malacca state assemblymen namely Goh (Duyong), Lim Jack Wong (Bachang) and Chin Choong Seong (Kesidang) announced their resignation from the party to be Independent, citing lack of trust in DAP leadership.[10] They formed the 'Justice League' to contest in the 2018 general election (GE14) as independent candidates using the key as their common symbol.[11] Sim contested the Kota Laksamana state seat whereas Goh will go for both parliamentary (Kota Malacca) and state seat (Kesidang). Lim and Chin will contest the Ayer Keroh and Bandar Hilir state seats respectively.[12] In the GE14, Sim officially contested first time as independent candidate for the state seat of Kota Laksamana but lost.[13]
Election results
edit| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | N13 Tranquerah | Sim Tong Him (DAP) | 8,267 | 55.17% | Ng Peng Hong @ Ng Peng Hay (MCA) | 6,279 | 41.90% | 14,984 | 1,988 | 77.76% | ||
| Thei Niu Kim (PPPM) | 104 | 0.69% | ||||||||||
| 1990 | Sim Tong Him (DAP) | 9,142 | 57.86% | Khoo Heng Peng (MCA) | 6,007 | 38.02% | 15,799 | 3,135 | 78.02% | |||
| Loo Kin (IND) | 374 | 2.37% | ||||||||||
| 1995 | N18 Bandar Hilir | Sim Tong Him (DAP) | 6,445 | 54.98% | Boon Ah Soo (MCA) | 4,929 | 42.05% | 11,722 | 1,516 | 75.18% | ||
| 1999 | Sim Tong Him (DAP) | 6,835 | 57.65% | Ng Peng Ann (MCA) | 4,771 | 40.24% | 11,855 | 2,064 | 74.69% | |||
| 2004 | N16 Ayer Keroh | Sim Tong Him (DAP) | 6,562 | 39.41% | Seah Kwi Tong (MCA) | 9,549 | 57.36% | 16,649 | 2,987 | 80.12% | ||
| 2013 | N20 Kota Laksamana | Sim Tong Him (IND)[A] | 1,242 | 7.35% | Lai Keun Ban (DAP) | 11,969 | 70.85% | 16,893 | 8,507 | 86% | ||
| Chiw Tiang Chai (MyPPP) | 3,462 | 20.49% | ||||||||||
| 2018 | Sim Tong Him (IND)[B] | 517 | 1.7% | Low Chee Leong (DAP) | 20,181 | 67.40% | 24,952 | 16,173 | 83.30% | |||
| Melvin Chua Kew Wei (MCA) | 4,008 | 13.4% | ||||||||||
A Sim who surprisingly registered as an Independent candidate on nomination day but withdrew later to support DAP named candidate, still had his candidacy appeared on the EC voting ballot officially.
B Sim and three others MLA who had quit DAP Malacca earlier, had formed the 'Justice League' informal Independent bloc and contested as Independent candidates using the key symbol.
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | P138 Kota Melaka | Sim Tong Him (DAP) | 38,640 | 57.26% | Wong Nai Chee (MCA) | 27,250 | 40.38% | 67,479 | 11,390 | 79.57% | ||
| 2013 | Sim Tong Him (DAP) | 49,521 | 62.17% | Yee Kok Wah (MCA) | 28,775 | 36.13% | 79,651 | 20,746 | 86.30% | |||
References
edit- ^ "Maklumat Ahli Parlimen : YB Tuan Sim Tong Him". Parlimen Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ a b Tan Sze Ming (11 April 2013). "Malaysian Representatives alpha : Sim Tong Him". #MyMP UndiMsia! Sinar Project. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ "Guan Eng and wife voted out of Malacca DAP committee". The Star. 19 December 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ "GE13: Sim Tong Him sacked by DAP for contesting as an independent". The Star. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ "GE13: DAP's Sim Tong Him withdraws as Independent candidate for Kota Laksamana". The Star. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ Hafiz Yatim (21 April 2013). "EC: Okay for Sim to contest as independent as well". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ "#GE13* Chinese Press:Sim a true blue DAP man". The Edge Markets. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ "Doc wins suit against two Malacca DAP leaders". The Star (Malaysia). 17 September 2005. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ^ "Former DAP chief Goh Leong San declared an independent". The Star (Malaysia). 28 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ^ "Kota Melaka MP, three state reps leave DAP". The Malay Mail. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ Kong See Hoh (7 January 2018). "Four ex-DAP reps to form 'Justice League'". The Sun Daily. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ Kong See Hoh (19 April 2018). "Former DAP Malacca leaders form Justice league". The Sun Daily. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ Soo Wern Jun (2 February 2018). "Independent MP predicts massive win for BN in Melaka". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 11 July 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- ^ a b "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
- ^ "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- ^ "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- ^ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.