Dr Michael Teo Yu Keng, 75, is a remarkable character to those who know him. His solemn countenance may appear fierce, but he is kind and easy to approach. And the warmth begins the moment he opens his mouth.
Dr Teo is a well-liked medical practitioner, if not a politician. Anywhere is a good place to take him to hang out and sip tea.
Because of this, a lot of people come to his clinic, Teo’s Clinic and Maternity Centre, which is situated in the heart of Miri city.
On November 1, it was announced that Dr Teo would not seek re-election for the Miri parliamentary seat he had held for the past two terms.
Many people are surprised by this since they are aware of Dr Teo’s reputation as a man of great tenacity and toughness, and that he has made early preparations to deal with the upcoming general election (GE).
After all, the other three Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) members in Sarawak withdrew during the Sheraton Move, leaving him as the lone remaining member.
Internal party sources say that Dr Teo was one of the 16 party candidates for GE15 chosen at a meeting held by Sarawak PKR on Monday night.
According to the source, Dr Teo will defend his seat based on the initial proposal made by Sarawak PKR because of his extensive experience and two terms in parliament.
Even his political machinery has been formed and readied, as he is likely to endure multiple attacks.
Simultaneously, the name CM Chiew or Chiew Choon Man emerged as a rival, after the young man’s potential was discovered when he helmed the State Youth Justice Force movement.
Thus, when the meeting was conducted the night before the candidate announcement, voting took place, and Dr Teo was defeated by CM Chiew by four votes.
According to some accounts, Dr Teo’s dismissal was premeditated in response to complaints about his low attendance in Parliament.
Others contend that Dr Teo has to be replaced so that the people can embrace a younger leader who is on par with other Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders.
Whatever the reason, Dr Teo was never actually asked to retire. In a nutshell, he was neither psychologically nor physically prepared to deal with the shock of the “surprise attack”.
It is understood that his campaign materials, including posters and t-shirts, are already ready, and he has acquired nomination forms from the Miri City Council, which serves as the secretariat of the Miri Parliament’s Election Commission (EC).
Thus, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived in Miri on Wednesday (Nov 2), the first thing he did was to find and calm Dr Teo, who is renowned for being loyal and not easily swayed.
It should be noted that despite the PKR turmoil, Dr Teo remained with Anwar, signifying their tight relationship.
In fact, after losing its leader twice, the party chose Dr Teo as one of its acting representatives in Sarawak.
Dr Teo joined PKR as one of its founding members in 1999. He was given the opportunity to represent the party in the Senadin state assembly in the 2001 state election because of his active participation and determination.
Dr Teo received only 3,905 votes in his first election, allowing Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who represented BN-SUPP (Barisan Nasional-Sarawak United Peoples’ Party), to win with a majority of 9,199 votes.
Even if he lost, Dr Teo’s spirit remains unaffected.
In the 2008 general election, he made his second appearance, this time in the Sibuti parliamentary seat, where the majority of the population is Bumiputera.
Dr Teo obtained 4,590 votes, but not enough to compete with the new face of BN-PBB (Barisan Nasional-Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) Datuk Ahmad Lai Bujang, who garnered 8,238 votes.
In the 2011 state election, his name came up again in the Senadin state assembly, and he challenged Lee once more.
The SUPP candidate was dealing with domestic issues, which boosted Dr Teo’s popularity.
The calculation process was redone till early in the morning since Lee won with just a majority of 58 votes.
Dr Teo found it extremely difficult to make this choice, especially in light of the fact that Zulhaidah Suboh was working as his director of election operations at the time.
Even so, as it is said, one is able to do something well because it is something familiar.
Dr Teo immediately ended his sad episode and went back to serveg the people tirelessly. For him, the narrow defeat is a motivation to succeed.
Dr Teo came back strong in the 2013 GE. He was aware that he would face a stronger and more popular candidate in the SUPP this time – Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew, who was elected to replace his “boss” Datuk Seri Peter Chin, the SUPP president, who had earlier declared his retirement from politics.
He made good use of his past three election experience, and in the end, he pulled off a surprise by winning 26,909 votes to Sebastian’s 24,917, causing a shock.
A total of 306 votes were gained by the State Reform Party Sarawak candidate Chong Kon Fatt.
This victory of 1,992 votes brought Dr Teo to Parliament for the first time.
Despite taking on the role of the opposition, he has done his best to help the Miri people.
So, when he was back in GE14, Dr Teo had little trouble putting Sebastian’s one-on-one rematch fight aside and winning with a majority of 13,669 votes.
Dr Teo now has a prominent position among the Sarawak PKR leaders, thanks to his success as a member of parliament. He was given ongoing command of Miri PKR.
In fact, he tried to stand for the post of Sarawak PKR chairman in March 2020 but lost to Larry Sng. However, Sng later selected Dr Teo as Sarawak PKR vice chairman, a position he held until last July.
When internal crisis struck the national PKR, Dr Teo was appointed vice president of PKR (Sabah and Sarawak) in June 2020 – imagine Anwar’s confidence in him.
Dr Teo’s brief appearances will be missed; people will always remember the kindness that hid his seriousness.
He understands that his age now justifies the conduct, and he will accept his fate.
Happy retirement Dr Teo!
