He now enters his fourth term as state party chief having fought off challenges for his post from former secretary Tan Hong Pin and ex-state chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau.
Liew’s deputy, Teo Nie Ching, also retained her post at the Johor DAP convention today.
Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali and Ramakrishnan Suppiah are vice-chairmen while Chen Kah Eng has replaced Tan as the secretary for the next three years.
“If there were flaws in my previous leadership, I will do my best now to rectify them. We will find ways to resolve our differences amicably and get work done,” said Liew in a statement
“With your support, we will be stronger together. The party election has now ended and it is time for us to reconcile and move on. We need to focus on the coming general election as one united team,” said Liew.
Among the other office bearers are George Poh (assistant secretary), Gan Peck Cheng (treasurer), Wong Shu Qi (organising secretary), Ho Bao Kheong (assistant organising secretary), Liow Cai Tung (publicity secretary), Marina Ibrahim (assistant publicity secretary) and Tee Boon Tsong (political education director).
Former federal minister Yeo Bee Yin, who came out tops in the state elections after winning 631 votes, is one of the eight committee members. The Bakri MP is joined by Boo, Pang Hok Liong (legal bureau chief), Lim Eng Guan, Ng Yak Howe, Tan Chen Choon, Yeo Tung Siong and Kannan Mariappan.
According to a source, most of those elected to the committee are aligned to party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
“The results of state party elections, like in Penang, Perak, Kedah and Negeri Sembilan, have shown one thing — that Guan Eng is still in charge,” said the source.
Another source said that the easy win by Liew and his team could be attributed to party stalwart Lim Kit Siang, who is said to have made many visits to Johor to campaign for him. Kit Siang’s recent statements had called for the current leadership to be retained.
“The party grassroots, comprising many older members, have a soft spot for Kit Siang and they tend to give him face when it comes to party matters,” said the source.
Calling it a “workhorse committee”, Liew said DAP would be steadfast in upholding the five working goals listed in its proposed plans for GE15.
Liew said among the goals were strengthening itself as a multiracial party and transforming the party from “a grocery store to a hypermarket”, in reference to the surge in Johor DAP membership.
The convention was attended by 905 delegates from 210 branches across the state.
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