TWO DAP leaders agree with former DAP central executive committee member Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew’s assessment that the party has veered away from its core principles, potentially impacting voter support.
Liu, who was the incumbent Sungai Pelek assemblyman quit DAP on June 24 after being one of the party’s frontmen for almost four decades.
He expressed concerns that some leaders seem to have forgotten the party’s long-standing ideals, risking it becoming similar to “another MCA.”
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the two leaders agreed with Liu, stating that certain colleagues have lost sight of the party’s values since joining the government.
One of them, an assemblyman, pointed out that if the leadership continued to neglect these principles, he would not run in the next general election. He criticised the leadership for accommodating every demand to stay in power, feeling it went against the party’s identity.
“Some of the decisions feel like it is going against our own identity as a party,” Free Malaysia Today quoted him as saying.
“The Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership tends to be more sympathetic to Barisan Nasional’s (BN) demands than those of its own component parties.”
Moreover, the assemblyman is of the opinion that DAP was being used to gain Chinese votes for the unity government.
He added that many agreed with former Damansara MP Tony Pua Kiam Wee’s remarks on UMNO but were disappointed that the party did not back Pua.
At a DAP fundraising dinner last month, Pua noted that PH supporters must prove that “a multiracial party that is clean and not corrupt” could do better than “corrupt” coalitions and parties such as BN, UMNO and Bersatu.
Meanwhile, the second DAP leader warned that the party could become “another UMNO” if it continues its present course, leading to internal divisions and potentially affecting support in upcoming state elections.
He claimed that the importance of upholding their promise to reject corruption and corrupt leaders, as conveyed to voters during GE15.
“If this goes on, we will not only be irrelevant like MCA but will also start having many camps within the party like UMNO. This could affect support for the party in the coming state elections.
“The chances of Chinese voters supporting Perikatan Nasional are slim, but it is possible many will not show up to vote. This is because one of the main things we told our voters in GE15 was that we reject corruption and corrupt leaders, including those from BN,” said Pua. – July 19, 2023
