KUALA LUMPUR – It is a clear recipe for disaster should DAP continue with its game plan to drop performing incumbents and prevent them from defending their seats in the Johor polls, as previously seen in the Melaka and Sarawak elections, said Ronnie Liu.
In a statement today, the DAP central working committee member said his party must address cronyism in the party’s candidate selection process.
“In Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, we cannot have a divided army. DAP should select the best man (or woman) for the seat and not the best seat for a crony.”
In view of the challenging situation, Liu said his party should instead focus and mitigate losses to avoid a total wipe-out in the southern state.
DAP must refrain from replacing performing assemblymen in their current seats or promising them a “promotion” to another state seat deemed to be “safer”, he added.
“Avoid dropping performing reps in safe seats to be transferred or ‘promoted’ to another ‘safer’ state seat or a promise of a future parliamentary seat in GE15 and be replaced by a newbie or rookie.
“It is noted that leadership has met up with some incumbents to avoid replacing them.
“Take the opportunity to close ranks by bringing back some old guards who are still young, efficient, effective and efficacious reps.”
Liu, who is Selangor’s Sg Pelek assemblyman, also called for party leaders to snap out of their denial as the results of the Sarawak and Melaka elections were foreshadowing what is to come in the much-anticipated 15th general election (GE15).
He said the current mood is very negative for the party as well as Pakatan Harapan (PH) but very upbeat for Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin Umno, and worries that it will affect the Johor election results, which can tremendously influence the outcome of GE15.
“Johor is the birthplace of Umno and MCA and it will be foolhardy for DAP to think it will be a walk in the park. Johor has never been a fertile hunting ground for DAP until the old guards like Dr Boo made a breakthrough in 2008.
“Meanwhile, Johoreans like Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Tony Pua, Teo Nie Ching, Yeo Bee Yin and others made their fame and fortune in Perak, Selangor and Penang.”
The road ahead is an uphill climb for DAP, he said, as the party has yet to counter the reluctance of voters who once supported the party, convincing them to come out to cast their votes as many did not in the Sarawak and Melaka polls due to the pandemic and travel expenditure.
“It is expected that we lost 30% of such voters in those two state elections.”
He said voters who switched their support to PH during the 2018 election, on the back of “the big issue of kleptocracy”, would likely return to BN’s fold in the Johor polls.
“This time, they will return to BN as rightly or wrongly, many perceive we had not performed in our 22-month federal rule. Young voters working in Singapore are unlikely to come home to vote, especially after their (return to celebrate) Chinese New Year.
“How to excite voters to give us a second chance after our 22-month ‘performance’ (as the federal government)?”
However, not all is doom and gloom for DAP as the proliferation of Malay-Muslim parties in the likes of Bersatu, Pejuang, PAS and Umno would make the contest for Malay-majority seats more competitive.
So, Liu said, multi-racial parties like PKR, DAP, Muda and possibly Warisan will have a sliver of chance to emerge victors in mixed seats, provided the opposition parties do not cannibalise each other’s voter base.
“The introduction of Undi18 will provide a good opportunity for DAP too. However, it is noted ‘bossku’ (Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s social media moniker) has a big following of young adults.”
Moving forward, Liu urged DAP leaders to strategically defend their state seats to bolster parliamentary ones in GE15.
Acknowledging that DAP may lose in the Johor polls, he stressed the importance of planning ahead for GE15 and working closely with PH component parties – PKR and Amanah – as well as forging strategic alliances with like-minded political groups. – The Vibes, February 12, 2022
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