In ousting Pua, DAP grassroots fail to look at the big picture

YOURSAY | ‘It is not that Tony Pua has lost touch with the grassroots.’

Lim: Pua defeated as he lost touch with the grassroots

Anonymous_1543574477: I’m very surprised that DAP members are judging their MPs and assemblypersons on how they look after clogged drains, potholes and attending weddings and funerals.

You are expected to do look into these problems as opposition politicians, but you need expertise and brains to understand the intricacies of “looting” in 1MDB, Felda, Tabung Haji, LTAT (Armed Forces Fund Board) and GLCs (government-linked companies).

Without politicians such as Tony Pua and Rafizi Ramli, the kleptocrat Najib Razak would still be in power.

Either DAP members are stupid like BN members or are no better and expect MPs and assemblypersons to look after blocked drains and damaged roads.

DAP leaders must now wake up as they are no longer in the opposition.

Anonymous_1531693563: It’s not Pua's fault (that he lost the Selangor DAP election). He just had too much on his plate.

It is our gain, and Selangor's loss. He should just concentrate on helping Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in putting the nation back on the right track.

Anonymous_2679c6e5: Pua is an asset to any party and to the country. In Singapore, he would have been a minister long time ago.

It is not that Pua has lost touch with the grassroots. The DAP grassroots have lost touch and forgotten the sacrifice of nation-focused politicians and how much it takes to steer the whole Malaysia in the right direction.

There is a dire need for grassroots education so that talented and qualified people are not sacrificed by the wayside and incompetent and self-serving people are elected into positions that make decisions for the country.

They want people who can give them positions in the party. We see this in all the other parties, including those in Pakatan Harapan. We have seen that happening in PKR as well.

DAP should set a better example because more is expected of you.

Vent: I think you miss the fact that the DAP grassroots wouldn't have won the day for Harapan.

Entrenched Chinese chauvinism was always DAP's undoing in the past. Umno got away with it because it had the numbers to make political capital out of it, aided and abetted by servile political partners.

DAP has never gained traction in majority Malay areas and even in some mixed ones. The so-called “fresh faces” combined with a desperate groundswell movement nationwide for change was the reason why DAP won more seats in GE14 than it ever has.

So even if foot soldiers at the grassroots make up the numbers, battles cannot be won without able commanders especially in a multiracial environment.

The grassroots have to be educated about a changed political landscape where there appears to be zero tolerance for racism/chauvinism and the winners don’t take all.

AnotherKomentar: DAP members made a silly and nonsensical choice by refusing to elect Pua.

Those elected were essentially Chinese-educated so-called “grassroots” leaders like Ronnie Liu, Teng Chang Kim, Ng Swee Lim, etc, are recycled and has-been old-timers whom DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said had not lost touch with the grassroots.

Fateh: DAP, the nation needs representatives to work for the country, not for the grassroots.

The grassroots, if they are wise, should know that our country has inherited massive debts from the previous corrupt government, and DAP, now part of the government, will have to assist to overcome a monumental task of rectifying the problems.

Anonymous_f87fd98a: There must be a balance between leaders who focus on micro grassroots issues and there must also be leaders who look into national macro issues.

Both are equally important and relevant in order for the political party to be dynamic.

Heartland.Kluang: The reality is that we need all types of politicians to fix our humongous problems inherited from people who have been fixated on drains and roads and allowed issues of governance and accountability down the drain.

CYTan: For Pua, the recent loss might not be a big blow. But to be labelled “lost touch with grassroots” is another matter. It’s very mean and unbecoming for Kit Siang so quick to pin the reasons as such.

Did the 724 votes in the convention actually represent the grassroots? By not seeking re-election as state chief and without holding any minister post, Pua was already placed in a disadvantaged position.

Hank Marvin: To understand the real Tony Pua, just look at what happened before the DAP candidate for Balakong by-election was eventually finalised.

Pua tried to impose his preference by ignoring the grassroots (when the late assemblyperson had not been in Pua's good book).

Pua has gone too far, so the delegates have every right to dump him. If Pua thinks he is smart and brainy, then he can remain as the backroom boy for Guan Eng at the Finance Ministry.

Remember that the grassroots are not stupid. Note that Abdul Aziz Bari, who was not favoured by Tony Pua in Selangor, won handsomely in Perak and got appointed to state exco.

And the Perak delegates voted him No 1, even ahead of party veterans like Nga Kor Ming and Ngeh Koh Ham.

P Dev Anand Pillai: Pua may have been defeated in the state elections but please remember that if it were not for financial experts like him and Rafizi who were able to dissect the mass plundering of the national coffers by the leaders of the previous administration, the BN would have won another election and all the stolen loot who have been safely kept.

Yes, he may not have had the time for the grassroots but he used his expertise to expose these scandals for the whole world, including the grassroots, to see. Don't become another MCA, where positions count.

We cannot deny that grassroots support play an important role, but they are at the lower level of the party’s hierarchy and lack in depth. Think forward, lest you end up like MCA and Umno.

Clever Woter: MPs are elected on both national and local issues. Pua has the biggest constituency in the country, no thanks to recent electoral redelineation during last few days of the embattled Najib regime.

Pua spent much of his time addressing the country’s monetary challenges and to be effective he needs a strong and well-supported local office.

Granted, he has more affluent voters but nonetheless their demands are no less different from elsewhere.

Mushiro: If Pua had focused too much on national issues, that was the right strategy. Indeed, Pua had played a key part in exposing 1MDB which resulted in victory for Harapan. - Mkini