De-registering DAP will make it a ‘victim’ voters will sympathise with

PBS, a Sabah based party, once came off as a 'bully-victim' by the BN before it took over the state government.

COMMENT

By Clement Stanley

The die may have been cast and it could be the writing on the wall for the nation’s leading opposition party the DAP with regards to it’s de- registration by the ROS.

The fire has been lit by Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad, the press secretary to the PM. He has laid the groundwork for this to happen by his statements and innuendos both of which can be viewed as the direction the ROS should take in coming to a decision. Tengku Sariffuddin has in fact build up the case for and on behalf of the ROS.

The response from the Minister of Home Affairs and the Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamid seems to confirm this. In the words of Shakespeare in Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony has this to say “Mischief thou art set. Now let it work”. The ball seemingly, has started to roll.

But if this sets the tone for what is to befall the DAP, the BN strategists had best rethink this move. History will show that this move can be counter effective against the BN.

In 1984, Pairin Kitingan stood as an independent in a by election in Tambunan, Sabah against the BN backed mighty Berjaya led by Harris Salleh and won. What happened next was devastating to Party Berjaya. Harris Salleh abrogated the status of Tambunan as a district to punish the Tambunan electorate for voting Pairin as their State Representative. All Government agencies ceased to exist and the people of Tambunan had to travel to Keningau for their needs. Even the Community Centre was locked thus denying the people of Tambunan the use of this facility.

This very vengeful move opened the eyes of the entire population of Sabah. It moved the fence sitters in droves to back Pairin and his newly established PBS. The rest as they say, is history. PBS went on to rule Sabah for the next 9 years.

Should the ROS decide to outlaw the DAP, the sympathy votes the DAP will garner will put the BN at risk. Fence sitters will throw their support behind a party that they feel has been bullied and subject to humiliation. The response from the entire population to the de- registration of the DAP and the world over will not in any way be advantageous to the BN.

The fact that Lim Kit Siang has volunteered himself as the sacrificial lamb to keep the DAP as a legal entity will only build up the support and keep the momentum going for the DAP.

The BN had best rethink the move to outlaw the DAP if such a move is in fact on their cards.

Clement Stanley is an FMT reader.