Ronnie Liu: Merge Harapan parties into a single progressive entity

 

Sungai Pelek assemblyperson Ronnie Liu says that one of the best prospects for a united Malaysia is for his own party DAP to merge with PKR and Amanah, thus creating a more representative and bigger multi-racial party.

"All three should dissolve and merge into one pluralistic party with a progressive outlook.

"I really hope that one day Pakatan Harapan will be a single, broad-based party instead of a coalition," Liu told Malaysiakini.

He said that far from being a Chinese chauvinist, as the party has been criticised, he believed in a multi-racial vision and that DAP needed to evolve from its current position.

"DAP needs an overhaul or it will face a slow death," he added.

Liu said he knows that in the past, this kind of call had been twisted to mean he wanted to destroy DAP and make it subservient to PKR but that was not his intention.

A combination of DAP's 42 MPs, PKR's 35 MPs and Amanah's 11 MPs would give any such entity 88 MPs making it comfortably the largest party in the current Parliament.

However, given that PKR itself had been riven by factionalism and with tensions rising ahead of the DAP leadership elections in June, it is questionable if such a merger could work.

"The reason to dissolve to become one party is that each party can throw away past baggage and come under new branding. DAP has been accused of being anti-Islam, PKR an Anwar (Ibrahim)-only vehicle and some say Amanah is small fry.

"But if we can merge in a sincere way, the combined parties can be a real force," Liu added.

Liu has been embroiled in a war of words with senior DAP leaders, with Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang yesterday repeating the potential of external threats to DAP amid the ongoing party elections.

“The party is undergoing elections at the state and national levels and we welcome a healthy debate on the future of DAP and the nation.

“But we must be aware of hostile external forces which are trying to split and destroy DAP,” Lim said in a statement.

Liu had dismissed the “external forces" theory and instead expressed frustration at the rise of DAP "elites" since the 2018 general election, who took up important federal government positions at the expense of long-time grassroots leaders.

He also said that those who rose to prominence after DAP's successes did not endure the sufferings of the grassroots but instead were enjoying the fruits of their (the grassroots') labour.

He claimed the party was now under a feudal system, with the elites treating the ordinary members like cannon fodder.

Liu had previously criticised the manner in which the current DAP leadership had charted the party’s course, saying they shouldn’t have to dilute the party’s “Chinese-ness” to attract Malay supporters.

For this stand he took, Liu was roundly slammed by party leaders such as Tony Pua and Hannah Yeoh. - Mkini