Does the Rocket need to right its course?

 Delegates at today’s special congress must decide if DAP’s place in the unity government is strengthening the party or slowly eroding its original identity.

More than 4,000 delegates will decide today if DAP should remain or withdraw from government posts for the remainder of the current parliament’s term.

PETALING JAYA:

Sixty years after its launch, has the DAP Rocket veered off course?

The Chinese-centric multiracial party was the darling of the disenchanted once upon a time.

It highlighted issues close to their hearts — from minority rights to cultural assimilation, economic equity to the New Economic Policy, and from governance and corruption to human rights.

It was easy then, being in the opposition.

But the party’s fervour for hard-hitting debate and headline-grabbing statements has petered out.

While it licks its wounds inflicted by a string of electoral setbacks, the “blue wave” is already reshaping the country’s political landscape.

At today’s special party congress, the 4,000 or so delegates will confront this crisis.

The question is whether to quit the government now and reduce its ministers and deputy ministers into backbenchers in the Dewan Rakyat for the remainder of the current parliament’s term.

The special congress couldn’t have come at a more critical time.

The party was routed in the Sabah elections in November last year. In the Johor election in July, it lost four of the 10 seats it used to hold in the state assembly.

But the biggest tragedy must have been the defeat of party secretary-general Loke Siew Fook in the Chennah seat in the Negeri Sembilan election on Aug 1. DAP’s hold in the state assembly was reduced from 11 to nine seats.

Loke Siew Fook.

Loke himself acknowledged that the party was now facing a “serious crisis of confidence”. This prompted the DAP to begin pushing the reform agenda, a central pillar of Pakatan Harapan’s 15th general election manifesto.

But beneath that is a bigger question: is being in the unity government strengthening the party or eroding the identity that once made it a formidable electoral force?

Time to look in the mirror

Analyst Asrul Sani said the DAP delegates must assess whether being part of the government has delivered enough policy and political returns.

The delegates must decide whether their reformist identity has become blurred, and whether their electoral strategy is still fit for current purposes.

Asrul Sani.

“The party must move beyond defending the existing arrangement and decide what it must do differently. DAP has to demonstrate that it can still deliver meaningful results on the economy, governance and reform,” he told FMT.

Asrul said staying in government gives DAP influence over policy, access to the machinery of government, and a role in maintaining political stability and policy predictability.

On the other hand, leaving could give the party some breathing room, allowing it to distance itself from unpopular decisions and reclaim a clearer political identity, The Asia Group associate vice-president said.

“But there is an obvious contradiction — if DAP leaves the Cabinet while continuing to support Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and remain in PH, it can lose influence without gaining much political mileage,” he added.

Chinese identity, Chinese support

Then comes the question DAP has wrestled with for years: What exactly is the party trying to be and whose support does it want to prioritise? Making that choice now could give it greater clarity and direction as it heads into the 16th general election (GE16).

Former DAP MP Ong Kian Ming said this question is best answered post-GE16. He said if the party continues to decline in GE16, it has two options: undergo renewal to gain wider appeal, or double down on its traditional support base.

For much of its history, DAP’s electoral strength was built on Chinese support, with the party positioning itself as the alternative to MCA and Gerakan.

Analyst Lau Zhe Wei of International Islamic University Malaysia said doubling down on efforts to regain Chinese support is redundant now that the community has already begun to distance itself from the party.

Lau Zhe Wei.

“It would make little difference whether they vote for another party or choose not to vote.

“The issue now is not really with DAP but with PH. The blame, the issue, the fault, everything has to do with the coalition,” he said.

For the record, fellow PH component PKR won only one of the 13 seats it vied for in Sabah. In Johor, PKR contested 20 seats and Amanah 19, but they won only one each.

In Negeri Sembilan, PKR won two seats out of the 16 it contested while Amanah drew a blank.

Lau said that at the end of the day, the issue at the ballot box is still about PH. “Therefore, it would not serve much purpose for DAP to leave the Cabinet,” he said, adding that it would not necessarily bring voters back to the party.

Changing landscape

There is another factor beyond DAP’s control: the shifting faultlines in Malay politics.

Lau said that as long as cooperation between Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional remains effective, there is little DAP can do, as Malay support would likely stay with the two coalitions.

He said the BN-PN alliance may eventually reach a breaking point and go their separate ways, which would alter the political landscape. However, there was no clear indication yet of how long it would take to reach that point.

As the Rocket enters its seventh decade, perhaps the question is whether it can persuade voters to look beyond what DAP once stood against and decide what the party still stands for. - FMT