GEORGE TOWN – The controversy in Penang DAP following the leadership’s move not to field certain members in the upcoming state election is unlikely to sway voters against the party, a political analyst said.
This is especially so in the case of those who quit the party standing as independents in the August 12 polls.
Hence, despite party veterans and stalwarts being sidelined, Sivamurugan Pandian said DAP candidates vying for the 19 state seats are favourites, notwithstanding strong challenges expected from Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Dissatisfaction among certain members arose as the party’s leadership did not renominate seven assemblymen from the previous term.
Five of them were state executive councillors, including veterans Phee Boon Poh, Chong Eng, and deputy chief minister P. Ramasamy – as well as the younger Yeoh Soon Hin and Soon Lip Chee.
There are concerns that Gerakan, which is a component of PN, may stand to benefit from the internal bickering in DAP.
However, despite some optimism about a Gerakan resurgence, the decision of its president Datuk Seri Dominic Lau Hoe Chai to contest in the Malay-dominant seat of Bayan Lepas instead of a Chinese-majority one shows that DAP still has the edge.
Offering his insights into DAP’s decision to not renominate three-term Ramasamy and M. Satees in the Prai and Bagan Dalam state seats respectively, Sivamurugan said that the duo are strong personalities.
“But I think the electorate will continue to side with the party rather than candidates when it comes to DAP because of the political standing that the party has earned over the past two decades,” he said in an interview.
DAP has been consistently seen as a party that has stuck to its principles despite grim political challenges it has faced since coming into power in 2008 in Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan – before spreading its wings to Johor and East Malaysia.
“The fact that DAP’s elected representatives stood firm against the betrayal by PAS in Pakatan Rakyat and against the Sheraton Move shows their mettle,” said Sivamurugan.
His remarks came as the two seats in Penang, which have Indian representations – Prai and Bagan Dalam – would each see a four-cornered fight after nominations for the state election were closed by the Election Commission yesterday.
In Bagan Dalam, Satees is contesting as an independent to defend his seat against former DAP comrade Kumaran Krishnan Calvin of Pakatan Harapan (PH), K. Jayaraman of PN, and Rajasakanan Sinnakannu, another independent.
In Prai, independent David Marshel faces PH’s Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo, who is his former DAP comrade, PN’s Sivasuntaram Rajalinggam, and Muda’s Vikneswary Harikrishnan.
Meanwhile, Ramasamy in a statement intimated that political parties should not take the Indian community for granted when it comes to politics.
The third largest community after the Malays and Chinese respectively, Indians are not passive nor ignorant of their political strength in the country.
“Indians have a king-making presence not just in a few constituencies but in about 60 electoral constituencies, both parliamentary and state.
“Indian presence is more than 10% in some constituencies, in some more than 15% and there are constituencies where Indians have a presence of more than 20% or even more than 35% in a small handful of constituencies.”
Therefore, even if the Indian population is about 7% or 8% of the total population, when it comes to their electoral strength, they are a force to be reckoned with, said Ramasamy. – The Vibes, July 30, 2023
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