KUALA LUMPUR – DAP needs to undergo a major overhaul of its leadership and operations to shed its Chinese image, and woo the support of the Malay majority, said Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew.
The DAP central working committee member said the transformation is needed in order to ensure the party is a formidable choice for voters, especially the Malays, who make up the majority of the nation’s vote bank.
This was Liu’s response to questions on the party’s long-standing struggle to attract Malay votes and members, following the severe defeat that the party and its Pakatan Harapan (PH) allies faced in the recent Melaka polls.
“A change of top leadership in DAP is necessary as the current one is perceived as unfriendly to Malays in general,” the Sg Pelek assemblyman told The Vibes when contacted.
“The top leadership must have a good representation of all the major races.”
The issue of DAP’s lack of diversity within its fold came to the fore amid its deteriorating relationship with PH partners PKR and Amanah.
Some DAP leaders had blamed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the poor performance in the election, but his supporters insist that the defeat in Melaka was due to a host of other factors, especially PH’s overall appeal to Malay voters in the state.
For many years, DAP has struggled with its inability to gain the trust of Malay voters, since it is seen as championing causes of the Chinese community.
This is partly due to the party conducting its official business – such as meetings, statements, and gatherings – in Mandarin.
“Every statement from the top DAP leadership must be in Bahasa Malaysia, and translated versions in English and Chinese should be provided to avoid misrepresentation,” Liu said.
“All political ceramah must be conducted mainly in Bahasa Malaysia, but it’s okay to have interpretations in other languages.”
Liu said all party policies must be based on the reality that Malaysia is a multiracial, multi-religious, and multicultural country.
There’s a need to project multi-racialism and pluralism – it’s okay to increase the party’s ‘Malayness’ and (elements of) other races, but there’s no need to reduce the ‘Chineseness’ and ‘Indianness’ of the party as DAP is certainly for all races.
“Programmes and events must be conducted in rural areas and the Malay heartlands as well, instead of concentrating all activities in urban areas.”
Despite its disagreements with its PH cohorts, Liu said the party must remain friendly and cooperative with component parties and other non-governmental organisations.
Liu also suggested that DAP maintain a formal and cordial relationship with other political parties such as the Malay-ruled Umno, Bersatu, PAS, Warisan, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
“DAP must form an Islamic Consultative Council within the party to deal with issues and all things Islamic to avoid saying or doing wrong things that turn Muslims away,” Liu said.
“(It should) train more young Malay cadres and provide a platform for them to excel in political leadership, as well as governmental affairs.”
“Another reason why DAP did not make any headway (among Malays) was the poisoning of minds campaign launched by racist leaders and organisations, like some elements in Umno-PAS, over a long period of time in mainstream media.”
Stagnant leadership
Meanwhile, University Putra Malaysia political scientist Prof Datuk Jayum Jawan said DAP faces challenges in cajoling for Malay votes and support as it has not shaken its image as a Chinese-led party, due to its reputation for being an extension of the People’s Action Party.
“It does not help that it does not have non-Chinese at its top leadership. At least, not known non-Chinese who could help it gain traction among indigenous populations, either Malays, Dayaks, or Kadazandusun,” Jayum said.
Jayum also pointed to DAP’s top brass, which has remained stagnant and is seen to be mostly helmed by its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, and his father Lim Kit Siang.
“In recent years, DAP has been seen recruiting more professional non-Chinese, but the fact that the public thinks DAP is basically a party driven by the father-son team does not help to paint it as a democratic party driven by consensual leadership,” Jayum said.
“DAP under Kit Siang and Guan Eng failed to feel the pulse of indigenous people and their politics, needs, and wants. What is important to indigenous groups, is not central to DAP’s struggle that focuses on issues such as the ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ agenda.”
Jayum said the varying approaches to the so-called “Malaysian Malaysia” are what separates the Chinese in DAP and MCA.
“For example, what the former ‘struggles’ for are deemed less acceptable (among the majority of Malaysians), while what the latter seeks is more in tune with ‘Malaysian Malaysia’. This is essential (to note) on how ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ is seen through the lenses of DAP and MCA.”
Azmi Hassan, a political observer from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, echoed both Liu’s and Jayum’s points on the issue, saying that the party needs to attract more ordinary members from the Malay community, apart from changing its leadership.
“If the Malay leadership in DAP is already scarce, then it’s very difficult to attract ordinary members. And when there are not many ordinary Malay members, it’s going to reflect on it being a Chinese chauvinist party,” Azmi said.
“The first thing they need to do is to elect more Malays, and this depends on the current leadership. They have to do this to get rid of the stigma that they are a Chinese-based or Chinese chauvinist party.”
Azmi said as long as the party is predominantly led by Chinese leaders, the general public will continue to perceive it as a party for the Chinese.
“If we look at PKR, they have a mix of Malay, Chinese, and Indian leaders – so in a way, they perform better in attracting Malay voters compared to DAP,” Azmi said.
“PKR can attract Malay votes because they have a pool of Malay ordinary members, and more importantly, they have a mixture of different segments of society.” – The Vibes, December 13, 2021
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