Media statement by former DAP Member of Parliament for Batu Kawan Kasthuri Patto on Thursday 20 October 2022 in Wisma DAP, Penang:
Stepping down gracefully to make way for future leaders in the DAP.
This is the hardest decision I have had to make in my life.
I wish to announce that I am stepping down gracefully and not contesting in the coming elections to make way for future leaders in the DAP and for Malaysia and I will be forever indebted to the party for providing me a platform to serve people and nation for 2 terms as Member of Parliament for Batu Kawan. The party leadership had persuaded me to rethink my decision but after much thought, I will stick to my decision and have received full support and blessing from the party leadership which I truly treasure. There have been rumours that I have been dropped but this is not the case as I am stepping down on my own accord and account.
The DAP has, is and will always remain as more than a party to me, instead, being born into the party, it will always be family to me, my mother Mary Patto and my sister Shaalini Anne and my husband Alain Morvan who has been my rock and confidante in this tumultuous time.
I wish to continue and pursue my work on human rights, namely on the abolition of the death penalty, criminalising child marriages, gender inclusivity, civil liberties and social justice for all on a different platform with Malaysia close to my heart and the principles of the DAP as my moral compass. In the wise words of Mr Lim Kit Siang, the party is catapulting me to the world and I appreciate the support from the party to pursue this. In my last term as an MP, I was a member of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee for International Affairs and was elected as President of Parliamentarians for Global Action and am currently the DAP Deputy Secretary of International Affairs.
I wish to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Mr Lim Kit Siang, who has been a father figure to me and to the late Mr Karpal Singh for embracing me like a daughter as I journeyed in politics as an elected representative and in life. My utmost love, respect and gratitude to the leadership of the DAP, Chairman Sdr Lim Guan Eng, Secretary General Sdr Anthony Loke and the Chief Minister of Penang Sdr Chow Kon Yeow for your wisdom, direction and tenacity in facing imminent obstacles in the political landscape of Malaysia. To my party comrades, thank you for all your support and know that you will always have mine. To Sdri Chong Eng, Chairman of DAP Women for paving the way for more women representation in decision making positions, I am grateful for your persistence to see this happen.
To my supporters and voters of Parliament Batu Kawan, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to represent all of you in the Dewan Rakyat and to my officers in my service centre, I and the people of Batu Kawan thank you for your service all these years.
It has been a true privilege to have served in my constituency under the DAP flag and I wish only the best to my beloved party and Pakatan Harapan to steer Malaysia to reach her full potential as a Malaysia for all Malaysians.
KASTHURI PATTO