Thomas Su Keong Siong

Summary

Thomas Su Keong Siong is a DAP politician and lawyer who has held elected office continuously since 2004, serving in the Perak state assembly, as MP for Ipoh Timor, as MP for Kampar, and currently as state assemblyman for Ketari in Pahang since November 2022. He is a member of DAP's central executive committee and won the Ketari seat at GE15 by a majority of 120 votes. His public record covers affordable housing, police accountability reform, and civil liberties issues.

Biography

Thomas Su Keong Siong (Chinese: 蘇建祥; born 18 September 1966) is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the Member of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Ketari since November 2022 [1]. A lawyer by profession, he earned an LL.M. cum laude from the University of Wolverhampton before returning to Malaysia to practise law, and was admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 1994 [1]. He began his political career in 1999 when he contested but lost the state seat of Malim Nawar in Perak as a DAP candidate [1]. He was subsequently elected to the Perak State Assembly in 2004 and again in 2008 for the constituency of Pasir Pinji, and served as a member of the Perak State Executive Council (EXCO) under Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin during the short Pakatan Rakyat administration [1]. In 2013, Su moved to the federal stage, winning the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat and succeeding Lim Kit Siang as MP [1]. In 2018, he contested and won the Kampar parliamentary seat [1]. For the 2022 general election (GE15), DAP fielded Su — described by Bernama as a 'party heavyweight' and member of the party's central executive committee — for the Ketari state seat in Pahang, replacing incumbent Young Syefura Othman [2]. Su won the seat with a slim majority of 120 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional candidates [1]. Note: Wikipedia lists his birth year as 1966, while Wikidata records 1967; the Wikipedia article provides the more specific date of 18 September 1966 and is used here.

Known for

Thomas Su is known for a decades-long career spanning Perak state-level and federal parliamentary politics before transitioning to the Pahang state assembly. He is a member of DAP's central executive committee, reflecting a senior position within the party's national structure [2]. During his parliamentary years, he raised issues relating to affordable housing, police accountability, and civil liberties, including challenging the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 [3][4].

Political positions

During his tenure as MP for Kampar (2018–2022), Thomas Su questioned the government's handling of the PR1MA affordable housing scheme, criticising what he described as an 'unending study' on homebuyers suffering losses of up to 30 per cent on their properties [3]. On police reform, Su argued that the government should build on existing parliamentary select committee reports on the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) rather than establish new task forces, stating the issue had been delayed since 2005 [4]. On civil liberties, Su's legal history under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 placed him in public opposition to the mandatory ten-day prior-notice requirement for peaceful assemblies; his eventual acquittal in 2018 came after the Pakatan Harapan government instructed a review of the relevant provision [5]. As Ketari assemblyman, Su has been active in responding to natural disasters in his constituency, including flood and landslide events in the Pahang highlands region [5][3].

Education

1. Before 1994Earned an LL.M. cum laude from the University of Wolverhampton.⛓

Before politics

1. 1994Admitted to the Malaysian Bar; worked at C K LEONG & CO. in Ipoh.⛓

Political career

1. 1999Contested the Malim Nawar state seat in Perak as a DAP candidate; lost.⛓
2. 2004Elected to the Perak State Assembly for the constituency of Pasir Pinji.⛓
3. 2008Re-elected to the Perak State Assembly for Pasir Pinji; appointed to the Perak State Executive Council (EXCO) under Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.⛓
4. 2013Won the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat, succeeding incumbent Lim Kit Siang as MP.⛓
5. May 2018Won the Kampar parliamentary seat at GE14.⛓
6. November 2022Won the Ketari state seat in Pahang at GE15 with a majority of 120 votes, defeating BN and PN candidates.⛓
7. November 2022Signed a statutory declaration with other Pakatan Harapan elected representatives supporting Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail for the post of Pahang Menteri Besar.⛓

Election history

• 2022Ketari (Pahang State)Won⛓
• 2018Kampar (Parliament)Won⛓
• 2013Ipoh Timor (Parliament)Won⛓
• 2008Pasir Pinji (Perak State)Won⛓
• 2004Pasir Pinji (Perak State)Won⛓
• 1999Malim Nawar (Perak State)Lost⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• GovernmentBernama reported that DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook announced Thomas Su as DAP's candidate for Ketari at GE15, describing him as a 'party heavyweight' and member of the party's central executive committee tasked with defending the seat.⛓
• OppositionNST reported that Su was DAP's pick for Ketari, replacing Young Syefura Othman who was fielded for the federal Bentong seat, reflecting a strategic shift of an experienced federal-level politician to a state-level contest.⛓
• VerifiedFactsThomas Su won the Ketari state seat at GE15 (November 2022) with a majority of 120 votes, defeating both Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional candidates, per Wikipedia citing SPR results.⛓
• AffectedMalaysiakini reported that Thomas Su rushed to his Ketari constituency following mud floods in Bukit Tinggi and Janda Baik in February 2023, alongside Bentong MP Young Syefura Othman.⛓

Notable legal history

In 2013, Thomas Su was charged under Section 9(1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 for organising a peaceful assembly — the 'Blackout 505' rally in Ipoh on 9 May 2013 — without giving ten days' prior notice to police (Source: malaymail.com). He was first charged on 27 May 2013 but received a discharge not amounting to an acquittal in 2014, following a Court of Appeal ruling that the mandatory ten-day notice requirement was unconstitutional (Source: en.wikipedia.org). He was subsequently recharged for the same alleged offence in 2016 (Source: en.wikipedia.org). On 27 July 2018, the Sessions Court in Ipoh acquitted Su after the Attorney General's Chambers withdrew the charges, following the new Pakatan Harapan government's instruction to review Section 9(1) of the Act (Source: malaymail.com, bharian.com.my). Both Malay Mail and Berita Harian confirmed the acquittal outcome. No further finalised legal proceedings have been identified from allowlisted sources.