DAP can't rely on partners forever to get Malay votes, says candidate

 

MALACCA POLLS | The DAP cannot be forever reliant on its Pakatan Harapan partners to court Malay voters, said its state chief Tey Kok Kiew.

For this reason, Tey said he had volunteered himself to contest in the state seat of Bemban, which is Malay-majority but also has a substantial non-Malay population.

Tey is moving from his safe seat of Bandar Hilir which he won with 83 percent of the votes, the largest margin in the entire state. The Bandar Hilir electorate is more than 70 percent Chinese.

"DAP can't stay in town areas, we need to expand our influence. As the state chief, I have to lead by example by going to a more rural area, getting to know the life of other races and giving them a chance to get to know us.

"Only then DAP can go a long way. We can't rely on our partner parties to gain Malay support. We can do that in the short term, but in the long term, we need Malays to understand our struggles and ideas.

"I believe only then more Malays will support us," he said.

DAP has long struggled with an image problem within the Malay community, having been demonised by Umno for decades for being "anti-Islam" and "anti-Malay".

It had in recent years tried to shake off the perception by fielding more Malay leaders from within its ranks, particularly the middle level, but the party is still largely dependent on its allies to win over the Malay vote.

Bemban candidates Azmi Kamis (Independent, left) and Tey Kok Kiew (DAP)

Tey said as the state chief, he is more recognisable and therefore it was his responsibility to contest in a riskier seat.

"We felt that there was a strategic need. I myself felt the need.

“As I said, in order to be the ruling government, we need 15 seats including Bemban," he said. There are 28 seats in the state assembly.

The strategy has been adopted by DAP central leaders for decades, particularly its supremo Lim Kit Siang.

Lim, who started out as the MP for Kota Melaka (formerly Bandar Melaka) moved to Penang in the 1980s and 1990s to try and spread the party's influence there, which is now a DAP stronghold.

He was also the Ipoh Timur MP between 2004 and 2013 in the bid to win over Perak, and is currently in Johor where the party has again sought to spread its wings there.

Other top DAP leaders have since emulated similar strategy but they have not always been successful.

Dangerous move

The party's Liew Chin Tong, for example, left his Penang seat to take on MCA president Wee Ka Siong in Ayer Hitam, a parliamentary seat in Johor but lost by a narrow 303-vote majority in the 2018 general election.

However, Tey said he is prepared to face the risk.

"I have to be frank, If DAP is afraid of losing, then that's not a DAP representative.

"Instead of sending a new person to a dangerous place, why don't we give new people a chance and platform (to contest a safe seat)?" he said.

Tey's 37-year-old political secretary Leng Chau Yen will be contesting in his former safe seat of Bandar Hilir.

Leng Chau Yen, DAP candidate for Bandar Hilir

In Bemban, Tey will face BN's Koh Chin Han, PN's Mohd Yadzil Yaakub and independent candidates Azmi Kamis and Ng Choon Koon.

In 2018, DAP won the Bemban seat but only with 45.4 percent of the votes in a three-cornered fight.

However, with voter disillusionment and the likelihood of a low turnout due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Tey faces an uphill battle.

In the interview, Tey also reiterated DAP's backing for Amanah's Adly Zahari to be Harapan's chief ministerial candidate if the coalition wins the state government.

He described BN's chief ministerial candidate Sulaiman Md Ali, who is also the incumbent chief minister, as “weak”.

"There are many people who are controlling him behind the scenes.

"If a chief minister does not have judgement or leadership, then his decision will be overwritten by people higher up. Malacca will have no future," he said.

Sulaiman's opponent has portrayed him as a puppet of Malacca Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh, a claim the latter refutes.

In the past, the state Umno chief is normally also the chief minister if BN wins. However, Umno has departed from this convention after the 2018 general election.

Campaigning for the Malacca polls started on Nov 8. Voters will decide on Nov 20. - Mkini