Zairil named Guan Eng aide in DAP bid to lose anti-Malay tag

By Clara Chooi

February 23, 2011

Zairil will be the first Malay political secretary to a DAP secretary-general. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — Lim Guan Eng has named newcomer Zairil Khir Johari, the son of a prominent Umno stalwart, as his political secretary in an overt attempt by DAP to shake off its anti-Malay stigma.

The son of the late Tan Sri Mohd Khir Johari is the first Malay to be appointed political secretary to the secretary-general in the history of DAP, which was founded in 1966. He joined DAP last year.

The Penang chief minister, however, stressed that Zairil’s appointment, effective today, had been based on the latter’s attributes and qualifications, and not his race.

The fact that Zairil was Malay, he added, was “purely coincidence”.

“It is not because he is Malay but because he is a learned individual. He can probably even teach me things that I do not know,” he told a press conference today.

The Bagan MP added that a person’s level of competency was “race-blind” and not “race-specific”.

“Zairil is an entrepreneur, an idealist and a reformist — a truly dangerous combination.

“With his extensive experience and positive contributions to the party, we feel that he can help us to bring real change,” he said.

Lim, however, admitted that DAP’s popularity among the Malays may improve with Zairil’s involvement in the party, but stressed that support should be attracted based on a community’s needs.

“We do not want to attract support based on race but on needs. And if the Malays have the greatest needs, then they should be the biggest beneficiaries,” he reasoned.

Lim said that the “anti-Malay” portrayal of DAP had been created due to the success of what he called Barisan Nasional’s political propaganda.

“I do not want to concede that we are a racist party like Umno,” he said.

Zairil will serve as Lim’s political secretary for the latter’s position as DAP secretary-general and will be based at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The 28-year-old holds a Master of Arts in International Studies and Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London.

He also has a degree in Information Systems Engineering and was an entrepreneur in the chocolate industry, where he introduced full-coloured chocolate printing technology in Malaysia — the first to do so.

The father of one comes from a family of nine siblings including himself, and his father had once been education minister under three prime ministers, including the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, the country’s first prime minister.

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