Letter to Editor
IN THE case of Skudai state assemblywoman Marina Ibrahim, the DAP has once again proven beyond reasonable doubt that the party uses Malay and Indian candidates to boost its multiracial image more than anything else.
The attempt to move Marina from her present Chinese-majority constituency of Skudai to Malay-majority Tiram with the promise of a position in a statutory body irrespective of whether she won or lost raises questions of integrity and responsibility.
Ostensibly, it was this attempted move that led Marina to say that she would not be contesting in the coming state elections.
Some analysts and DAP supporters have endorsed such move by the party by contending that shifting candidates from one constituency to another is something normal.
Yes, in the past, DAP used to move a small number of candidates from their traditional seats to constituencies that were more challenging.
The veteran DAP politician, Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, used to move constituencies merely to advance the strategic interests of the party.
However, such movements were generally reserved for a handful of senior DAP politicians. Junior leaders in the party, given their lack of experience, were seldom moved around.
The case of asking Marina who was a first-term Skudai state assemblywoman to move to Tiram represents an aberration in the party’s established practice.
‘Everything Chinese’
With only a handful of Malays and Indians in the federal and state governments, DAP cannot pretend that it is a truly multi-racial political party.
Strategic posts in the party and in both state and federal governments are invariably reserved for the Chinese.
It would be impossible for DAP to name a Malay or Indian as the Chief Minister of Penang.
In party elections, the number one position of secretary-general appears reserved for individuals of Chinese origin.
The party chairman may be a Sikh but unfortunately, he has little or no executive power. Malays and Indians in the DAP are meant to be window dressing more than anything else.
As some have alluded, the move to push Marina out of Skudai could be the work of certain warlords within the party. Whether the Johor DAP chairwoman (Teo Nie Ching) knows about this or not remains a mystery.
DAP’s constant rhetoric about being multi-racial has come tumbling down with the move to push Marina out of the Skudai state constituency.
Asking her to contest in Tiram with the promise of a reward in the form of a position in a state statutory body is nothing less than a daylight bribery.
Shouldn’t the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigate the matter or is the anti-graft agency waiting for a police report to be lodged?
Malays and Indians in the country must come to realise DAP’s true political character.
Pushing a very performing Marina who is capable of earning praises from her Chinese and Malay constituents alike out of her present constituency is nothing but an insult to the Malays. – June 7, 2026
Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
