IT IS unfortunate that Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo who is also a DAP central executive committee (CEC) member and former DAP Selangor state committee chairman could not make it to the state committee in the recent state DAP election.
He came out in the 16th place and opted to stay out of the state committee by assuring the party that he will offer his services.
Gobind comes from a well-known Malaysian Sikh family with his late father Karpal Singh being the former national DAP chairman.
Gobind might have thought that he was unshakeable in the party given his family’s standing. His two brothers – Ramkarpal Singh and Jagdeep Singh Deo – are also elected DAP representatives in Penang. He was wrong in assuming that he was unassailable in the party.
He clearly under-estimated the rise of factionalism among young DAP leaders who are opposed to family-related dominant faction.
After his debacle in the party elections, the DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook has assured that Gobind’s position as a federal minister might not be affected by his poor performance in the Selangor state election.
I am sure Gobind was disappointed by the election results but kept his cool. Gobind might have lost his place in the DAP Selangor state committee but he was not purged like others.
There have been many cases how the party’s dominant faction has purged popular leaders in the past because of their independent stand on issues.
Bootlickers last longest
It is an unwritten rule in DAP that if you are not sycophant or an appeaser, your days will be numbered in the party.
Charles Santiago, Satees Muniandy and Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy were purged in the form of denial to contest in the last national and state polls.
Santiago was a popular Klang MP but he was too independent and had a mind of his own to kowtow to the dominant faction in the party.
His replacement was an Indian leader who had the required branches that was useful to the dominant faction.
In the case of ex-state assemblymen Satees (Bagan Dalam) and Ramasamy (Perai), the same was true. It was not only Indians or Malay who are victims of warlord politics in DAP give some independent-minded Chinese leaders have also been purged.
Party elections in DAP is anything but democratic. There is no recognition for talents and new ideas. Victories in the party elections at all levels are determined not by one’s hard work or popularity but by alignment with factions.
The dominant family-related faction in DAP might not be able to retain its relevance anymore. There are other forces that have emerged to challenge the dominant faction in DAP.
The recent victory of Human Resource Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong (to emerge the Penang state chairman) is an illustration of how the long-time dominant faction was sidelined in Penang DAP state election recently.
If the dominant faction has been strong, Sim might have met the similar fate of Gobind. Loke should not shed crocodile tears on the ouster of Gobind from the Selangor DAP state committee.
He is fully aware of the inter-play of the factional forces that brought Gobind down. Loke is definitely part of the forces that are against the dominant faction and now not so dominant faction within the DAP.
‘No place for Indian or Malay talents’
DAP leaders boast of their adherence to the norms of democracy, justice and fairness but there is no democracy in the party. The winning and losing of leaders in the party elections at all levels are determined by factional fighting, horse trading and compromise. There is no place for genuine and capable leaders in the party.
The sprinkling of Indians and Malays serves the party to proclaim its multi-ethnic status. Essentially, DAP is a Chinese political party with its perennial quest to replace it. A small number of Indians and Malay leaders are co-opted in the party for propagandist reasons.
There is no such thing that the party attracts talented Indian and Malay leaders. In fact, given the semi-feudal nature of politics in DAP, there is nothing that the party can do in terms of envisioning a progressive Malaysian society not engulfed by race and religion.
Being part of the government, DAP has placed priority on power, positions and perks. Gobind should not accept the recent loss in the party state elections as part and parcel of the functioning of democracy.
He knows very well that if democracy had functioned, he would have won in the election. Unfortunately, he is both the beneficiary and victim of the politics of warlordism in DAP.
If Gobind has any respect and dignity as a leader interested in the well-being of the common men and women, he should tend his resignation from the party.
He should leave the party and chart a new political course for the future. DAP is sinking under its own weight of semi-feudal politics of factionalism and warlordism. – Nov 12, 2024
David Marshel is a former DAP member and currently the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) deputy chairman.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image credit: Malay Mail
