Cross-generation anti-Lims sentiment rising within DAP

 

As the countdown to DAP party polls begins, a movement to remove secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, and his father, party stalwart Lim Kit Siang from the helm is gathering pace.

A book launch scheduled for Jan 17 may serve as an opportunity for the anti-Lims movement to build momentum before the party election, which must be held no later than June 30.

The Jan 17 event is to launch a collection of bilingual poems and a memoir written by DAP veteran Liew Ah Kim, who once served as the party national publicity secretary, deputy secretary-general and vice-chairperson.

Liew, born in 1938, joined the DAP in 1966 and was elected as assemblyperson and parliamentarian for three terms, respectively.

He was once a close comrade of Kit Siang. However, in 1998, he teamed up with Wee Choo Keong and Fung Ket Wing against Kit Siang, the then secretary-general.

Nonetheless, the so-called 'Kick Out Kit Siang' (KOKS) movement eventually failed.

As a result, Wee was expelled from the party, while Liew and Fung quit and formed the Malaysian Democratic Party (MDP). Four years later, in July 2002, Liew rejoined the DAP.

Now, Liew is standing for the coming CEC elections at the age of 82.

His memoir, written in Chinese, titled 'Thirty-year drifting in politics', which touches in parts on the 1998 party crisis, is scheduled to be launched at Restoran Loke Fook Moon in Klang.

Sungai Pelek assemblyperson Ronnie Liu, Selangor exco V Ganabatirau, and former DAP member Hew Kuan Yau were amongst the guests invited, according to a source.

Liu and Ganabatirau are both candidates for central executive committee (CEC) positions, while Hew has maintained a certain level of influence in the party despite quitting four years ago.

The book launch was initially scheduled to be held in early December last year, but postponed due to some "unpredictable factors". When contacted, Liew told Malaysiakini that the launch would proceed on Jan 17.

'Power behind the throne'

Malaysiakini understands that after two decades, another movement against the elder Lim is emerging silently within the DAP. However, this time it is not only against Kit Siang but also his son, Guan Eng.

Under the party constitution, Guan Eng must step down from his secretary-general post as he had reached the stipulated three-term limit.

However, speculation is rife within the party that Guan Eng intends to switch to the chairperson position after finishing his term as secretary-general.

Incumbent chairperson Tan Kok Wai has already announced that he does not intend to stand for re-election for the same post, although he will still be contesting the CEC elections.

This declaration added more fuel to the fire, particularly after Hew made several insinuations on his Facebook page.

Former DAP member Hew Kuan Yau

Hew, who is known as 'Superman' and a popular figure among the DAP grassroots, opined that Guan Eng is intending to pull the strings from behind the scenes as the party chairperson.

'Who is the real decision-maker in DAP? By right, it should be the secretary-general, not the party chairperson.

'That's why the party constitution has to limit the term of the secretary-general to three terms or nine years, while there are no restrictions on the chairperson's term limit," Hew wrote on his Facebook page, which has more than 400,000 followers.

Using a metaphor of China's Emperor Guang Xu, whose life was controlled mainly by his aunt, Empress Dowager Cixi, Hew described how Guan Eng may continue to control the party without any term limits after becoming the chairperson.

"We should uphold internal democracy and defend the institutional reform by our former secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock (who pushed for the term limits for the secretary-general post).

“We must also promote a healthy leadership renewal and restrict the desire for control of strongman leader. This is obviously a regression," Hew added.

Last month, DAP veteran Teng Chang Kim also made similar calls. He has publicly urged the Kit Siang and Guan Eng to make way for new leaders.

Teng, who is also a Selangor exco, is currently sitting in the party central committee but has announced his impending retirement from politics and is not contesting the next CEC elections.

Slams the Lim's dynasty since 2001

This is not the first time Teng has urged Kit Siang to step down.

In 2001, three years after the 1998 KOKS movement and shortly before the 13th DAP national conference, Teng had openly urged Kit Siang to step aside at the party election.

"There is a joke circulating in the party. Some people asked whether the chairperson or the secretary-general has a bigger say. The answer is both are wrong.

"The correct answer is in which position Lim Kit Siang is in, then the position has the biggest say," Teng was quoted saying sarcastically.

This was reported by Nanyang Siang Pau in 2001 and recorded in Hew's Chinese book Beyond Dogma and Pragmatism: A Study of the Malaysian Democratic Action Party, which was published in 2007.

Teng had reportedly added that the "DAP should actually be led by the secretary-general. Only when the party’s role is properly performed can the organisation function normally".

"Therefore, whoever is elected as secretary-general, the party should return the power to the sec-gen," he added.

The concerns raised by Hew echo what was raised by Teng almost two decades ago.

Gobind as a preferable successor?

The DAP party election is a two-round process. Delegates first elect 30 members to form the central committee, which in turn elects among its members the office-bearers, including the secretary-general who has the highest administrative power.

The party constitution states that the secretary-general shall not hold office for a total period not exceeding three terms.

Guan Eng first took office as secretary-general in September 2004, and his last term was to have ended in 2015.

However, technical issues in the 2012 party election had caused two re-elections. The counting of the office term was refreshed twice allowing Guan Eng to continue in the position.

The party election was supposed to be held by the end of 2020; however, the Registrar of Societies (ROS) has allowed it to be postponed until June 30, 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Previously, the current DAP's national organising secretary Anthony Loke was widely seen as the successor to Guan Eng.

As the party election is approaching, it is speculated that Guan Eng views Gobind Singh Deo as a more favourable candidate, so that he may continue to influence the party by pulling the strings behind the scene.

To date, Lim, Loke and Gobind have not expressed an interest to contest any specific position.

Yet, surprisingly, and sometimes puzzlingly, history repeats itself.

Attempts to topple the Lim's family dynasty failed in both 1998 and 2001. What will happen this time?  - Mkini