KUALA LUMPUR – Former Johor DAP chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau has called for a shake-up in his party leadership.
Following his public dispute with other DAP leaders including secretary-general Lim Guan Eng over Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh’s donning of a headscarf during a recent visit to a mosque, Boo said that the party is in dire need of a new line-up that is more progressive, down to earth, and pragmatic to rebuild the party’s image.
“We need to train the young blood and they will take some time. Those in the front must be both experienced and vibrant.
“We can’t go back to being conservative when we are a social democratic party,” Boo said in an interview with The Vibes.
The former Skudai assemblyman said a new party leadership must comprise a good mix of young and seasoned leaders.
We can’t throw them (seasoned leaders) out the window all together. We must have the experienced and new ones; it can’t be all fresh faces because we need to have experienced ones who have been in the party leadership for quite some time.
“Therefore, we need a mix of all – those who are good administrators, good fighters and good visionaries.
“I think it’ll all be decided in the next party elections. I cannot predict how it’s going to be,” he said.
Prior to party polls, Boo said the time is ripe for open debates on issues pertaining to party policies to be held.
“This is a good opportunity to debate on issues, even if they look like nitty-gritty issues. When we extend it to policies, we extend it to our foresight and visions.
“We need to debate on the policies and it involves the constitution and how to better it. By doing so, we can make multiracial (party) more progressive.”
Similarly, he is of the view that the same should be done to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership, saying “it is time we reshuffle the whole thing and rebuild PH, and we will take years. We have to accept that”.
Over the past week, Boo and Lim traded verbal blows after the former was critical of Yeoh wearing a headscarf at a mosque, saying that it’s a “superficial gimmick”.
However, Boo dismissed that the recent spat with Lim is a sign of a widening crack in the party.
“Only a particular group in the party is trying to take the lead of the narrative, which is not an ethical practice. They took screenshots of WhatsApp messages, took it out of context and tried to manipulate it.
“The issue is the substance or policies – how we can change to attract more support for Malays and non-Malays.
“We (Boo and Lim) did not have a discussion before he issued an open statement on it, in which I responded in a really polite way.”
Boo said he had no choice but to respond to Lim who panned his remarks as no different from those made by “extremist and primitive PAS leaders”.
“It was uncalled for. We have to look into things more rationally and study the impact of what we say, what we do and what will be the future for the party, PH and the country.
“We should make our party relevant, our party’s ideology relevant to not only to the non-Malays but also the Malays. That is the real substance of the debate.”
‘Guan Eng needs to do the right thing’
Meanwhile, asked if Lim’s position as secretary-general should be reviewed, Boo said in jest: “I can’t ask my boss to step down.”
“Guan Eng has to understand and take his own initiative to do the right thing.
“If we fight internally, it will be worrying for the party. He has to make his own decision at an appropriate time and we have to rebuild PH with a new, progressive and convincing narrative.
“We do need young blood and new voices to debate on a new narrative,” he said. – The Vibes, December 11, 2021
