Penang DAP must discover and groom Indian leaders

 

From Terence Netto

Penang deputy chief minister (II) Jagdeep Singh Deo falling out of the top 15 position in the DAP state chapter’s poll last weekend confirmed what has long been speculated.

This is that Jagdeep is a damp squib where leadership mettle is concerned and his stature as adequate replacement for P Ramasamy a pretence.

Though Jagdeep’s younger brother Ramkarpal Singh topped the vote and RSN Rayer took 15th and last place in the state committee tally, the results do not assuage the void in Indian leadership in the state chapter.

The Indian presence comprised 20% of delegates to the triennial elective assembly held at Spice Convention Centre on Sunday.

It was sizeable enough to dismiss any argument for ignoring this bloc on the grounds it does not have leaders of potential.

In any case, the presence of Ramkarpal at the top of the vote ought to dismiss the parochialism behind Indians’ view of him as not representative of Indians.

But so is the parochialism that holds he cannot be chairman of the state chapter despite topping the vote because he is not Chinese.

Because Rayer is more courtier than leader, it would be true to say, as things stand, there is a void in Indian leadership in the state committee.

DAP was laudably trend-setting when it swept to power in Penang at the 2008 general election in creating a position of deputy CM (II) for an Indian leader.

It would be remiss now to ignore the need to sustain that initiative.

It devolves upon the party to look out for Indian talent and encourage it.

Besides, it helps refute the Umno argument that the party’s multiracialism is only a veneer.

DAP erred a while back in opting for Dr R Lingheswaran as their choice for senator from Penang. He was a Johnny-come-lately from MIC.

Even if DAP did not want to commend a Ramasamy minion for the Senate seat, it could have chosen another Indian of accomplishment, from outside the political ranks, to take the position.

Opting for an ex-MIC chap was not strategic thinking.

DAP was thinking strategically when it chose Zairil Khir Johari in 2008 as candidate for election to the state assembly and for elevation to a state exco seat.

The same thinking prompted the selection of Syahredzan Johan for the Bangi parliamentary seat in 2018, as replacement for Ong Kian Meng.

The choices of Zairil and Syahredzan were examples of DAP thinking strategically in a necessary quest for the Malay vote.

The logic should dictate the DAP’s cultivation of the Indian vote and its nurture of Indian leadership talent. - FMT

Terence Netto is a veteran journalist and an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.