Teresa Kok - Politics

Politics

Kok was political secretary to Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang from 1990 to 1995. In 1995, she contested the Ipoh Barat Parliamentary seat on a DAP ticket but was defeated by the MCA candidate. Kok resigned as political secretary after that to further her studies.

In the 1999 General election, Kok won the Parliamentary seat of Seputeh in Kuala Lumpur with a majority of 5,200 and was re-elected in 2004 with a majority of 12,895, the largest winning margin among the 13 elected DAP MPs. In the 2008 general election, Kok retained her Parliamentary seat of Seputeh in Kuala Lumpur with a majority of 36,492, the largest majority in any constituency. In the new Selangor executive council, she was named senior executive councillor and put in charge of investment, trade and industry to ensure all funds are directed to Malaysians.

Teresa was reelected into Central Executive Committee of DAP during the party's National Congress (23–24 August 2008) in Kuala Lumpur. She is currently the DAP National Organising Secretary, prior to this position she was DAP Publicity Secretary. She is also the National Secretary of DAP Wanita (the women's wing of the DAP) and a member of the DAP Disciplinary Committee. In Parliament, she was a member of the Select Committee on Review of Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code.

Kok is the Secretary of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC). She was an active lobbyist for Burmese democracy and human rights since 1996 when she was the Coordinator of Political Leaders Network Promoting Democracy in Burma (PD Burma) in Southeast Asian region.