Yeo Bee Yin

Yang Berhormat Puan
Yeo Bee Yin
MP
杨美盈
Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change
Assumed office
2 July 2018
Monarch Muhammad V
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
Deputy Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis
Preceded by 1. Wilfred Madius Tangau (Science, Technology)
2. Maximus Ongkili (Energy)
3. Wan Junaidi (Environment)
Constituency Bakri
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Bakri, Johor
Assumed office
9 May 2018
Preceded by Er Teck Hwa (DAP—PH)
Majority 23,211 (2018)
Member of the Selangor State Assembly
for Damansara Utama
In office
6 May 2013 – 9 May 2018
Preceded by Cheah Wing Yin (DAP–PR)
Succeeded by Jamaliah Jamaluddin (DAP–PH) (changed Bandar Utama)
Personal details
Born Yeo Bee Yin
(1983-05-26) 26 May 1983
Segamat, Johor, Malaysia
Citizenship Malaysian
Political party DAP
Alma mater Universiti Teknologi Petronas
University of Cambridge
Occupation Politician
Profession Field engineer
Website yeobeeyin.com

Yeo Bee Yin (simplified Chinese: 杨美盈; traditional Chinese: 楊美盈; pinyin: Yáng Měi Yíng; born 26 May 1983) is a Malaysian politician from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ruling coalition. Yeo currently is the Member of Parliament for Bakri in Johor. Previously she was the former Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly for the Damansara Utama state seat for one term from 2013 to 2018.

Yeo was picked and sworn in as Minister of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment on 2 July 2018, as part of Prime Minister Mahathir's 7th Cabinet [1]. The ministry was later renamed as Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) on 2 August 2018 for acronym convenience purposes.[2].

Early life

Yeo graduated from Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) with First Class Honors in Chemical Engineering under Petronas Scholarship . After two years working with Schlumberger, she went on to pursue a MPhil (Masters in Philosophy) in Advanced Chemical Engineering at Cambridge University under Gates Cambridge Scholarship, and completed her master's degree with a Commendation.[3][4]

Political career

She had been volunteering for DAP since February 2012 before joining the party permanently with another academician, Dr Ong Kian Ming, in August the same year.[5] While running her own business, she was also the social media strategic advisor to the party,[6] as well as special assistant to the Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua.

Following her election, Yeo said that her main priorities were decreasing the high crime rates, traffic jams, as well as combating flash floods and poverty issues.[7]

She is also the National Assistant Publicity Secretary of the DAP, Vice Chairperson of Pakatan Harapan Youth, and Political Education Director of DAP Wanita Selangor.[8]

In the 2013 general election Yeo contested for the first time and won the State Constituency for Damansara Utama on a DAP ticket with 83.6% of the votes and a 30,689 majority, the highest majority for state seats in Malaysia. She was then elected as the Selangor State Legislative Assemblywoman for Damansara Utama on 5 May 2013 – the youngest member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly.[8]

Yeo was picked by DAP to contest in the 2018 general election as the Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Bakri parliamentary seat in Johor[9] and successfully won it.[10]

Rosmah and Permata

In March 2017, Yeo questioned the finances of the Permata programme, a child education and welfare programme, of which Prime Minister Najib Razak's wife, Rosmah Mansor is the patron, urging for the transparency of the organisation's financial accounts.[11]

Yeo also questioned the need for a separate agency under the Prime Minister's Department with Rosmah, an individual not elected by the people, to have such a significant role in government, saying that early childhood development programmes such as Permata should be under the respective full ministries which are more equipped and have the personnel with more experience in the field.[12]

2017 misappropriation allegation

In March 2017, Jamal Mohd Yunos, the Sungai Besar UMNO Chief had alleged that funds from the Selangor state government for the Skim Mesra Usia Emas (SMUE) had been misappropriated by Yeo. Yeo disproved the allegation with documents showing each SMUE payment made.[13] Yeo appeared at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office where Jamal was expected to show up to lodge a report. Yeo brought along a mirror with the words "Nothing to Hide" written on it to be presented to Jamal.[14] Jamal however did not appear to lodge his report and the mirror was instead handed to his representative. Subsequently, Yeo filed a RM5 million suit against Jamal for defamation, in which, Jamal failed to appear at the High Court case management.[15]

MCA land dispute

In September 2017, DAP lawmakers questioned the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) of Selangor about a one-acre plot of land in Kampung Cempaka, Petaling Jaya which was allegedly purchased under market price.

MCA had applied for the land in 2006 and got approval from the state government in 2007 (which was then under Barisan Nasional). MCA then bought the land at RM 52,000 in 2008 at RM 1 per square foot (psf), when the land in fact was worth more than RM400psf. Yeo later on discovered the MCA's plans to convert the land to commercial status earlier in the year. She questioned the methods of how MCA managed to purchase the land under market price.[16] When the former MCA Member of Parliament of Petaling Jaya Utara, Chew Mei Fun was contacted on the matter, she denied being involved in the land application and declined to explain further.

After the case was exposed to public knowledge, three MCA leaders - MCA Selangor Vice Chairperson Tang Song Chang, Chew and current MCA PJU division chief Tan Gim Tuan came forward to justify that the 1acre plot of land bought under market price will be used for public service. Yeo refuted this claim, explaining that if the land was actually for public service, then there would be no need for MCA to own the land as public service lands should be owned by the state government. Yeo also requested for proof or guarantee that MCA intended the land to be used for public service, and also further questioned the reason MCA applied for the land to be rezoned and converted from a "water body" to "commercial land".[17]

Chew later threatened to sue Yeo and/or the DAP Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara then, Tony Pua, to which the DAP leaders openly welcomed, holding on to their standing that they had not done anything defamatory towards Chew or the MCA by revealing truthful facts.[18]

Charity work

Yeo's office runs two tuition centres in Damansara Bistari and Kampung Chempaka, which offer free classes for students between the ages of 7 to 17 from low-income families.[19] She also runs a monthly food bank program providing basic necessities assistance to more than 100 people.

She also works with DAP's Impian Malaysia movement, being one of the pioneers of the first Impian Sarawak project in Kampung Sait, Sarawak which works to provide basic infrastructure such as roads, water, and electricity in Sarawak.[20]

She is the founder of LEAP (Leadership, Education, Activism and Politics), which aims to educate students on the political process and activism in Malaysia, such as the formation of political parties, election campaigns, constituency management, media relations, coalition formation and debates.[4]

She is also the founder of the Lawatan Anak Muda (LAM) Programme which allows young participants to visit the Malaysian Parliament and the Selangor State Assembly. Participants get the chance to have a Q&A session with a few Members of Parliament and state assemblypersons.[21]

Publications

Yeo launched her first book, "Reimagining Malaysia" on the 14th of March 2018.[22]

Election results

Selangor State Legislative Assembly: N36 Damansara Utama[23][24][25]
Year Government Votes Pct Opposition Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 Yeo Bee Yin (DAP) 37,303 84.21% Lim Choon Kin (MCA) 6,614 14.93% 44,654 30,689 83.63%
Liew Wei Beng (IND) 380 0.86%
Parliament of Malaysia: P145 Bakri, Johor.[24][26][27]
Year Government Votes Pct Opposition Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2018 Yeo Bee Yin (DAP) 38,718 62.65% Koh Chon Chai (MCA) 15,507 25.09% 61,800 23,211 84.50%
Mohd Zahrul Salleh (PAS) 7,575 12.26%

References

  1. ↑ "New ministers sworn in before King (updated) - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  2. ↑ Bernama (August 8, 2018). "Mestecc is ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change". New Straits Times. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Profile - Miss Bee Yin Yeo (2009)". gatescambridge.org. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. 1 2 Jafwan Jaafar (1 March 2016). "Class acts: The academic backgrounds of 15 M'sian leaders". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Make Way for the Pakatan Women – Part 1". Roketkini. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "GE13: New-face Yeo hopes to apply what she has learnt". Yip Yoke Teng. The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  7. ↑ Prasena, Priscilla (22 May 2013). "New rep vows openness". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Yeo Bee Yin 杨美盈: About Me". Yeo Bee Yin 杨美盈 Blog. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "DAP names Yeo Bee Yin as candidate for Bakri seat". The Star (Malaysia). 24 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  10. ↑ Isabelle Leong. "MALAYSIA BAHARU: Bakri MP Yeo Bee Yin: I Had a Dream – To Build a Better Malaysia". Awani Rreview. Astro Awani. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  11. ↑ "Rakyat has right to full picture of Permata, presses Yeo". Malaysiakini. 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  12. ↑ "Let relevant ministry take over Permata, DAP tells Rosmah". Free Malaysia Today. 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  13. ↑ "DAP rep refutes funds misuse allegation by Jamal Yunos". Free Malaysia Today. 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  14. ↑ "Mirror, mirror on Jamal's wall". Free Malaysia Today. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  15. ↑ "Jamal Yunos no-show in court for libel suit by Yeo". Free Malaysia Today. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  16. ↑ "DAP wants MCA to explain Petaling Jaya land buy | The Malaysian Insight". www.themalaysianinsight.com. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  17. ↑ "Yeo to MCA: PJ land to be used for public services – really?". Free Malaysia Today. 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  18. ↑ "Feel free to sue us, DAP reps tell MCA veep". Malaysiakini. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  19. ↑ ZAP Film (2016-07-18), Pusat Tuisyen Rakyat Selangor, retrieved 2018-03-06
  20. ↑ Mikha Chan (15 March 2016). "Real change means working on the impossible". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  21. ↑ "Yeo Bee Yin's Lawatan Anak Muda (LAM) Programme" (in Malay). Yeo Bee Yin（杨美盈）Facebook. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  22. ↑ "Reimagining Malaysia". www.yeobeeyin.com. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  23. ↑ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  24. 1 2 "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  25. ↑ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  26. ↑ "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  27. ↑ "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
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