DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke has denied that the party suffered a trust deficit following multiple corruption charges brought against the party's secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
He stressed that party members and the public still have faith and continue to support the party and its leaders despite some who were unhappy because DAP failed to fulfil the manifesto pledged by Pakatan Harapan in the 2018 general election.
"We knew there were certain complaints against the DAP and disappointments among the supporters when we were in the government.
"It’s normal that when you were government, you cannot achieve everything that you had promised," he said in an interview with Malaysiakini and KiniTV.
The support that the DAP was getting was reflected in a recent donation drive which saw almost RM4 million raised just in one week to bail Lim, according to him.
"This is a record of sort for the DAP. We have never raised that kind of money before (in one single donation drive)," he said.
"The support for the DAP is not always reflected in the general election. The donation to the party is also a good indicator.
"So, I completely disagree that there is a trust deficit in the DAP for Lim. By and large, the DAP members and our supporters have full confidence in his integrity.
"They do not believe the charges are true.
"Bear in mind that the charges brought against Lim were not new. A similar allegation against him being involved in the scandal had surfaced before the 2018 general election," he said.
Over the weeks, social media was flooded with slanderous messages questioning the integrity of Lim, his family and even the DAP.
The party appeared to lose some of its shine with criticism and unhappiness on how the party reacted to some issues and election manifesto since it was in power.
Lim was charged with using his position for the personal gratification of up to RM3.3 million in Penang, soliciting bribes in connection with a multi-billion Penang undersea tunnel project.
He has claimed trial to the charge.
On Aug 11, Lim was charged with using his position to secure a workers' quarters project for a company while his wife Betty Chew was slapped with money laundering charges involving RM372,000 in relation to her alleged involvement with Excel Property Management and Consultancy.
Lim had labelled his prosecution as politically motivated to stymie his role as an opposition MP.
Loke himself was seen in a live-streamed forum held at Johor on Aug 16, telling the crowd that some people had told him that the DAP “is a better opposition party than a ruling party".
The same forum also saw a member based in Ayer Hitam, a Malay-majority constituency, seeking advice from Loke on how he could refute the online attack labelling the DAP as a corrupt party.
Loke, who is also Seremban MP, dismissed the allegation that the DAP, together with its Harapan allies were reluctant to face a snap poll for fear they might be defeated by Perikatan Nasional.
"Analysts can talk about all kinds of scenario and so on but they are not always right in predicting the election outcome. The poll results would never be known until the results are announced," he said.
"Of course, the prime minister would think he is enjoying big popularity right now. Election results can go in any way or either way as different dynamic would come into play," he said.
Meanwhile, Loke did not provide a direct answer when asked about the Harapan's designate candidate for prime minister post in the next general election.
"I think we have gone beyond that question. The matter had been discussed widely in the past few months, we’ve come to a stage that I think we have to see what's next and how to move on," he said.
"As far as Harapan's consensus is concerned, we don’t have any recent discussion about that.
"The position always remains, if (PKR president) Anwar (Ibrahim) gets the number and support, the DAP and Amanah will definitely pledge our support," he said.
"The best way is that if we cannot retake the government, then we work out a national consensus on how to stabilise the country and the political situation for the time being. I think this is one way out," he said.
He was referring to his proposal of striving for a ceasefire with the fragile PN government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to ensure political stability.
Loke also said Dr Mahathir Mohamad could still play a big role via the new party Pejuang, a Bersatu splinter party, but the nonagenarian would not take the driver’s seat.
"I am sure he has a role to play but playing a role doesn't mean that he has to be in the driver’s seat. He can still play a role as a senior politician," he said.
"I think we should look beyond Mahathir but not denying his contribution," he said.
Harapan was severely impacted by the prolonged power transition tussle between Mahathir and Anwar ever since it took power.
Concerned were raised on the unity of Harapan parties when Anwar was asked by Loke to take a stand on the premiership candidate.
Loke, however, denied the relationship between the DAP and PKR were as good as before.
"We still have a very cordial relationship with PKR. We still meet each other as usual and we discuss issues with each other," he said. - Mkini
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