PENANG deputy chief minister II Prof P. Ramasamy has told former federal minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to not drag DAP’s name through the mud in his disagreement with former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas.
The Perai assemblyperson pointed out that Thomas might have given his opinion as to what was wrong with politics in the country, and whether he had lambasted the Malay leadership or leadership in general remains to be established.
“But Thomas is not a DAP member and as such the party is in no position to approve or disapprove what he said at the forum,” Ramasamy stressed.
“Thomas is entitled to his opinion and such an opinion has no bearing on DAP and as such, if Zaid was offended by what was said by Thomas, he is free to take umbrage. However, there is no need to drag DAP into this matter.”
This comes after Thomas said that the opposition must get voters to ask themselves whether having a “Malay government” had made the country better and more efficient.
Speaking at a recent forum in Kuala Lumpur, Thomas also said the current government was an illustration of “Malay ketuanan (lordship)” and that the Cabinet in the last two and a half years which is “absolutely dominated by the Malays” had done “such a bad job in governance”.
In response to Thomas, Zaid said Thomas’ stereotyping was not beneficial and asked, “So, what type of Malays are acceptable to DAP?”
He said this was important because Malay Pakatan Harapan supporters needed to know if its leaders were useful or “merely stooges of DAP”.
The senior lawyer also called on DAP’s leadership to state whether it agreed with Thomas’ analysis of the matter, and said the party must issue a statement in the event it disagrees.
“No legitimacy to question DAP”
Calling Zaid an “interesting personality” Ramasamy said Zaid “hardly has the legitimacy to question the DAP” given his track record in party-hopping.
“Few can match the way Zaid jumped from one political party to another – he first joined UMNO in 2000 but was expelled from the party in 2008. Then in 2009, he joined PKR but resigned a year later,” the DAP lawmaker recalled.
“Zaid later formed Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA) in 2010 but resigned as its chief in 2012. After KITA, Zaid joined DAP in 2017 but left in 2020. He recently submitted his membership form to rejoin UMNO in Aug 2022.
“For person who had jumped so many political parties within a period of few years he hardly has the legitimacy to question DAP.”
Acknowledging that Zaid might be outspoken on certain matters from a liberal perspective, Ramasamy pointed out that Zaid himself is “a beneficiary of the system engendered by UMNO over the decades”.
“Zaid is free to engage or confront Thomas as that is his right but he should not drag DAP into the fold to bolster his own public image,” Ramasamy insisted.
“I wonder how is he going to bring about changes within UMNO. I’m afraid that he might be the one who is changed in the process – if he isn’t already.” – Sept 21, 2022
