Betty Chew
Quick Facts
Biography
Betty Chew Gek Cheng (Chinese: 周玉清; pinyin: Zhōu Yùqīng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiu Ge̍k-chheng; born 15 August 1964) is a Malaysian Chinese politician from the Democratic Action Party (DAP). As of 2005, she is the chief of the DAP Malacca women's wing, and also represents the constituency of Kota Laksamana in the State Assembly of Malacca. She is also married to the current Minister of Finance of Malaysia who is also the Secretary-General of the DAP and the previous Chief Minister of the State of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, and is the daughter-in-law of the former Opposition Leader in the Parliament of Malaysia, Lim Kit Siang, who is also a member of the DAP.
In 2005, she suffered a surprise defeat when running for re-election to the DAP Malacca committee, placing second-last, finishing ahead of only her husband. However, while her husband automatically qualified to sit on the committee by virtue of his position as party Secretary-General, Chew did not. Chew was "saddened by the results", but said she accepted her defeat. However, Teresa Kok, a DAP Member of Parliament, suggested there was a conspiracy behind the defeat of Lim and Chew in their re-election campaigns.
In 2006, it was reported that Chew would become the first Malacca assemblyman to give birth while in office. At the time, Chew had 4 children with Lim.
In 2008, Chew defeated newcomer Lee Kiat Lee for the Kota Laksamana seat where she had 11043 votes while Lee had only 3801 votes.
Election results
Year | Opposition | Votes | Pct | Government | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Betty Chew Gek Cheng (DAP) | 7,380 | 64.77% | Chew Chong Lin (MCA) | 4,011 | 35.2% | 11,605 | 3,369 | 73.88% |
Year | Opposition | Votes | Pct | Government | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Betty Chew Gek Cheng (DAP) | 8,944 | 62.74% | Lim Eng Tack (MCA) | 5,302 | 37.19% | 14,471 | 3,642 | 76.34% | ||
2008 | Betty Chew Gek Cheng (DAP) | 11,043 | 73.35% | Lee Kiat Lee (MCA) | 3,801 | 25.25% | 15,055 | 7,242 | 79.53% |