Perhaps disagreement over Bersatu's role cost me CEC seat, says Boo

Boo Cheng Hau, the sole incumbent who lost the DAP central executive committee (CEC) re-election yesterday, said his disagreement on Bersatu leading Pakatan Harapan might have cost him the seat.

The 13-year CEC member said DAP and other multiracial parties should have led Harapan instead of allowing Bersatu to dominate the opposition coalition to garner Malay support.

“For example, DAP has been working hard in Johor for many years. Now we have four parliament and 13 state seats in Johor.

“Our cooperation should be guided by non-communal parties like DAP, PKR and Amanah as core parties. Bersatu is a communal party which may be useful but it is new, hence it should not lead Johor,” the former Johor DAP chief told Malaysiakini.

According to Boo, if DAP wanted to garner more Malay support, it should rely on itself or other parties like PKR or Amanah rather than Bersatu.

Currently, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin is the Johor Pakatan chief while Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad is Pakatan chairperson.

Boo, who is the Skudai assemblyperson, said DAP gained 30 to 35 percent of Malay votes in his constituency and the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat in the last general election.

Therefore, the two-term assemblyperson viewed the result as the best example of DAP's self-reliance in getting Malay support.

“Our organisation is people-oriented, which could attract Malay (voters). What I don't agree is with abandoning the Johor leadership for the coming general election and giving it to Bersatu.

“This may not be necessary (in order) to attract Malay (voters),” he said, adding that Bersatu should not have been adopted into Pakatan but remain as an ally on the outside instead.

Asked whether his defeat in the CEC election would affect his chances of defending the Skudai seat, Boo said it was still premature to speculate on this.

However, he stressed that he would not quit DAP.

Boo was appointed as a CEC member after failing in his bid to get elected in 2004. However, he won in the 2008 and 2013 party elections.

His political career has suffered since 2014 when he lost the Johor DAP chief position to newcomer Liew Chin Tong, who only set foot in Johor during the 2013 general election.

Despite this, Boo managed to be elected as a state committee member.

Subsequently, Boo resigned as state opposition leader when he failed in his bid to be elected to the Johor state committee in 2015.- Mkini