DAP fielding Malays: PAS leader backs it

Hawkeye

 | March 22, 2012

Penang PAS' Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the move to field Malay candidates in Penang makes sense in light of the suspicion that the community's support has returned to BN.

GEORGE TOWN: A PAS leader has supported the proposal for DAP to consider fielding Malay candidates in Penang if it is part of a strategy to shore up support for Pakatan Rakyat.

In view of the suspicion that the Malay ground had switched back to Barisan Nasional since the former was uncomfortable with DAP, Penang PAS deputy commissioner II Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said it made sense if the socialist-based party wanted to field Malay candidates.

“This coming general election is altogether different. Both BN and Pakatan are going in with a track record in governance. Voters can compare. We must adapt to pre-2008 (tsunami politics) and post-2008 expectations. In this context, we need to realign where we contest and who should be fielded,” Mujahid said.

Speculations continue that DAP would consider fielding more Malay candidates, particularly in states where its support was growing such as in Penang, Perak and Selangor.

It is learnt that some quarters in DAP mooted for the party to field Malay candidates in one parliament and five state seats here.

If DAP proceeded to nominate Malay candidates, it is bound to be unsettling on various score here.

For one, would the predominantly Chinese incumbents in the party make way for Malay candidates? Would PKR or PAS willingly concede more seats to the party in Penang?

There might be an overlapping situation, as a DAP insider here said that it was only best that the party’s Malay candidates contested in mixed and urbanise constituencies where Chinese do not form the majority.

This means that DAP might overlap into PKR’s boundaries of mixed seats where the composition of Malay, Chinese or Indian voters were mostly equal or marginally close here.

Now, DAP has 19 state seats, PKR has nine and PAS one while BN through Umno makes up the remainder 11 seats here.

‘Learn to adapt’

Pakatan has a headache unlike BN, whose incumbents might step aside easier because they had served more than two-terms unlike the former, whose assemblymen were mostly young and first-term holders.

To this, Mujahid said it was up to the Pakatan leadership to decide, but the strategy of seeking more support from the Malays should be lauded in Penang as there was a worry within the community that they would be sidelined here, owing to a level of discomfort with DAP.

He said Pakatan must learn to be adaptive to the voters’ expectations, which had changed before 2008 and after.

Pakatan now had a track record of administering five states where promises were made and pledges taken as part of being in government.

Mujahid also pointed out that voters now would also study the calibre of the candidates and incumbents before voting.

“This 13th general election or future elections may no longer just be about which party one represents but the abilities and capabilities of the candidates to serve as well as their characters,” he said.

‘DAP has no choice’
Penang Malay Congress president Rahmad Isahak when weighing in, said DAP had no choice but to field Malay candidates here if it wanted to govern Penang effectively in the future.

Unlike now, where the Malay content only consisted of Deputy Chief Minister Mansor Othman and state executive councillor Abdul Malik Abul Kassim, both unable to voice out Malay concerns and issues well, Rahmad claimed.

He said that a government acceptable to all, must not only comprise a balanced representation of the diverse communities here but also leaders with support from the grassroots that they wished to represent.

Therefore, candidates fielded through the “parachute” concept might no longer be politically right in Penang, he added.

Penang is unique as its chief minister Lim Guan Eng was previously more active in Malacca than Penang, Mansor is Kedah-born and Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy is from Perak, who was mostly active as an academican in Selangor and Singapore.

Rahmad said leaders with no “sentiments” and background understanding of their constituents, or the historic context of a state, may end up antagonising the same people that they had hope to serve.

“One clear thing is Penangites hate arrogance and ignorance. This is a state where hard work, equality and enterpreneurship is part of the social fabric. I hope politicians from outside understand this. Also, the islanders and mainlanders have a different set of expectations,” he added.