Loke: I don't dislike BN, I dislike MCA

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said its image of fighting for justice and the oppressed formed his interest in the party's ideology and struggle.

In an interview on the Keluar Sekejap podcast hosted by Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Sufian Hamdan, the transport minister said that his interest in fighting for social justice had been nurtured since childhood.

“Yes, since childhood, when I was still in school, so it was synonymous with the rocket logo.

“So, there was a friend who supports BN, we would fight. I would bring a rocket poster, he would bring a dacing (BN’s logo) poster, so we fight in class. That has shaped my interest and also my perception of the party.

“It never crossed my mind to join MCA, never. So, even at the university, we knew that the student group was more pro-MCA, I deliberately did not want to join that group because I knew that they were pro-MCA,” he said.

Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Sufian Hamdan

Shahril interjected by asking why Loke chose DAP over BN and whether former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad made him distance himself from MCA and BN.

Loke then replied: “No, I think the factor is MCA. I don't dislike BN, I dislike MCA.”

Perception of elitism

When Khairy asked what the Seremban MP’s views were on MCA, Loke said the party carried an image that did not prioritise the interests of the people, especially the Chinese community.

“I mean that’s a perception, it’s a taukeh party, a party that’s only for the rich, people with positions and so on. So the perception - I’m not saying it’s right or wrong - but that’s the perception,” he said.

Loke said, as such, throughout his life, he never thought of joining MCA.

“That never crossed my mind when I was in university, when I came out of university, even though the DAP head office paid me a salary of less than RM2,000.

“(After) graduating, I didn’t have enough food to work in the DAP headquarters but I never said I wanted to join MCA at that time.

“Even though MCA was at the top (position) at that time. They had many seats in Parliament, there were many ministers, deputy ministers and so on,” he said.

DAP was previously an opposition party and was considered a political rival to MCA - a Chinese-based party for decades.

In the 2008 general election, DAP and its allies in Pakatan Rakyat managed to change the Malaysian political landscape by capturing several states and the ruling party lost its two-thirds majority in Dewan Rakyat for the first time since independence.

DAP also gained control of Penang, where Gerakan previously ruled. Since then, Chinese support for MCA has also been declining.

The election also saw Loke successfully defend the Seremban parliamentary seat for DAP.

In the 2018 general election, DAP together with its allies in Pakatan Harapan - along with Mahathir-founded Bersatu - won enough seats to form the federal government.

Loke’s career in politics continued to shine when he was appointed as transport minister in the Mahathir administration.

In 2022, Loke was appointed as the new DAP secretary-general to replace Lim Guan Eng. - Mkini