According to Penang Gerakan vice-chairman Wong Mun Hoe, the reality is that DAP is dominated by a bloc of Chinese leaders.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan vice-chairman Wong Mun Hoe has dismissed the demands by a state DAP leader that the opposition party field Malay candidates here in the next general election as nothing more than a “publicity stunt.”
Wong said fielding Malay candidates does not make DAP a multi-ethnic party as every voter knows that it is dominated and led by a bloc of Chinese leaders.
In all fairness, the party is mostly led by one family (Lim Kit Siang’s family) for the past four decades, and not just Chinese leaders per se, Wong said in an interview.
“Fielding one or three Malay candidates does not make the party, a multi-racial one. Actually, it would be difficult in Penang since PKR and PAS also have their own political interests here.”
To change a widely held perception that DAP is a Chinese chauvinist party, he said, the party must start to behave like a multi-ethnic one.
DAP must reach out to the poor section of the Malay and Indian communities, but its actions since 2008 do not demonstrate this, Wong said, adding that seldom do they preach about protecting the poor squatters here and often they just blame the previous Barisan Nasional administration for the socio-economic issues here.
Therefore, Wong does not believe that DAP would field many Malay candidates in Penang.
At most, he expects the party to field one or two candidates as a “window dressing” to the Pakatan Rakyat line-up.
It is learnt that two names were touted as possible Malay DAP candidates; Zairil Khir Johari, the political secretary to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and veteran DAP member Zulkili Mohd Noor (photo)
The noise generated by Zulkili and the Penang Malay Congress over a need to field Malay candidates is seen as a publicity stunt and to just keep the issue in focus, Wong said.
In reality, he said, it would be tough for any DAP incumbents to make way for anyone in the next election.
DAP contested and handsomely won all 19 of the state seats, PKR has nine and PAS one before the three went on to officially form the Pakatan Rakyat alliance to administer Penang.
On the possibility that there would be more independent candidates standing in Penang due to the emergence of third voice aspirants, Wong said in a democracy, everybody is welcome to contest.
PKR must make way for DAP
In another development, the Penang Malay Congress’s outspoken president Rahmad Isahak said PKR should consider making way for DAP to contest in Bayan Baru, as it is considered the latter’s stronghold.
Rahmad is of the contention that the only way for Malays to champion their political interests, is through the DAP equation since the party has rose to become a dominant presencè in Penang.
It is difficult for the Malays to make any political inroads here since PAS and PKR are not representing the Malay interests effectively in the state government here, while Umno through Barisan Nasional are mostly in the opposition here, Rahmad concluded.
“Bayan Baru would be an ideal constituency for DAP to field Malay candidates,” he said.
Penang PKR liaision committee chairman Mansor Othman could not be reached for comments.
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