Sim Tong Him

Sim Tong Him (simplified Chinese: 沈同钦; traditional Chinese: 沈同欽; pinyin: Shěn Tóng Qīn; 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]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Sim (沈).
Sim Tong Him
沈同钦
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Kota Melaka, Malacca
In office
2008–2018
Preceded byWong Nai Chee (MCA-BN)
Succeeded byKhoo Poay Tiong (DAP-PH)
Majority11,390 (2008)
20,746 (2013)
Member of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly
for Bandar Hilir
In office
1995–2004
Preceded byGan Boon Leong (MCA-BN)
Succeeded byGoh Leong San (DAP-PR)
Majority1,516 (1995)
2,064 (1999)
Member of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly
for Tranquerah (Tengkera)
In office
1986–1995
Preceded byN/A
Succeeded byGoh Leong San (DAP-BA)
Majority1,988 (1986)
3,135 (1990)
Personal details
Born (1948-09-08) 8 September 1948
(72 years, 153 days)
Malacca, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
CitizenshipMalaysian
Political partyIndependent (2017–present)
Democratic Action Party (DAP) (1982–2017)
Children3
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.facebook.com/SimTongHimchenTongQin/

Background

Sim is a relative of the Malaysian Chinese educationist Datuk Sim Mow Yu.[2]

Political career

Sim 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. However he was chosen to contest and won the Kota Melaka parliamentary seat in the 2008 general election by beating predecessor Wong Nai Chee of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) with a majority 11,390 vote and again in the 2013 general election by beating Yee Kok Wah of MCA with a majority 20,746 vote on the ticket of DAP.

Crisis and controversy

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]

On 20 April 2013, the nomination day of the 2013 general election, beside registering as DAP official candidate to defend his Kota Melaka parliamentary seat, Sim made a surprise commotion registering to contest the Kota Laksamana state seat too but as an Independent against DAP candidate concurrently causing DAP to 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 of Malaysia (EC), thus his candidacy still appeared on the ballots and managed to get 1,242 that finish last among three candidates but still lost his deposit in the election.

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.[6] Both Sim and Goh party membership was suspended for one-year suspension on 16 February 2016, reportedly for disparaging the party.[7]

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.[8] They formed the 'Justice League' to contest in the 2018 general election as independent candidates using the key as their common symbol. Sim will be contesting 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.[9][10]

In the 2018 general election, Sim contested the state seat of Kota Laksamana as independent candidate but lost.

Election results
Malacca State Legislative Assembly[11][12][13][14]
Year Constituency Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1986 N.13 Tranquerah P.113 Kota Melaka. 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 N.18 Bandar Hilir P.123 Kota Melaka. 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 N.16 Ayer Keroh P.137 Bukit Katil. Sim Tong Him (DAP) 6,562 39.41% Seah Kwi Tong (MCA) 9,549 57.36% 16,649 2,987 80.12%
2013 N.20 Kota Laksamana P.138 Kota Melaka. Sim Tong Him (IND)[A] 1,242 7.35% Chiw Tiang Chai (MyPPP) 3,462 20.49% 16,893 8,507 86%
Lai Keun Ban (DAP) 11,969 70.85%
2018 Sim Tong Him (IND) 517 1.7% Melvin Chua Kew Wei (MCA) 4,008 13.4% 24,952 16,173 83.30%
Low Chee Leong (DAP) 20,181 67.40%

A Sim who surprisingly registered as an Independent candidate but announced his withdrawal two days after nomination to support DAP candidate Lai Keun Ban, somehow still had his candidacy officially appeared on the ballot on voting day.

Parliament of Malaysia[11][12][15]
Year Constituency Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2008 P.138 Kota Melaka, Malacca. 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
  1. "Maklumat Ahli Parlimen : YB Tuan Sim Tong Him". Parlimen Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  2. Tan Sze Ming (11 April 2013). "Malaysian Representatives alpha : Sim Tong Him". #MyMP UndiMsia! Sinar Project. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  3. "Guan Eng and wife voted out of Malacca DAP committee". The Star (Malaysia). 19 December 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  4. "GE13: Sim Tong Him sacked by DAP for contesting as an independent". The Star (Malaysia). 20 April 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  5. "GE13: DAP's Sim Tong Him withdraws as Independent candidate for Kota Laksamana". The Star (Malaysia). 22 April 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  6. "Doc wins suit against two Malacca DAP leaders". The Star (Malaysia). 17 September 2005. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  7. "Former DAP chief Goh Leong San declared an independent". The Star (Malaysia). 28 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  8. "Kota Melaka MP, three state reps leave DAP". The Malay Mail. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  9. 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.
  10. Kong See Hoh (19 April 2018). "Former DAP Malacca leaders form Justice league". The Sun Daily. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  11. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 11 July 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  12. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  13. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  14. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  15. "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
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