DAP appeals to postpone party congress in view of Covid-19 spike

 

DAP has written to Registrar of Societies (ROS) director-general Masyati Abang Ibrahim requesting that its party congress be postponed for at least six months in view of a new spike of Covid-19 cases.

Party's national organising secretary Anthony Loke said he requested the approval for a postponement until the situation is under control.

"I hope the ROS will give consideration to our application as soon as possible as the current situation is unusual and beyond our control," he said in a statement today.

Loke (photo) added that on July 6 this year he appealed to the ROS for the congress, which should be held this year, be postponed for a period not exceeding 12 months.

"On Sept 7, the ROS responded to my letter and advised the DAP to implement the party congress before Dec 31, 2020.

"Preparations for the party congress have already begun and the process of sending notices to the branches is underway.

"However, the sharp increase in Covid-19 cases in the last few days due to the Sabah state election (on Sept 26) indicates a high-risk situation if the congress is held at the end of this year," he said.

There are now 2,336 active cases in Malaysia, with the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases standing at 12,813 and the death toll at 137. However, the last three days have seen a spike of 1,042 new cases.

Loke said holding the congress would involve almost 4,000 delegates from around the country and that all delegates have to be physically present for the voting process to select party officials for the 2020-2022 term.

"Therefore, I have sent an appeal letter today to the ROS director-general," he said.

Loke is also the Seremban MP and DAP Negeri Sembilan chief.

Previously, Umno and MCA have announced their postponement of all divisional annual general meetings (AGM) due to the spike in Covid-19 cases.

But unlike DAP, Umno and MCA do not have to hold a party election this year. Therefore, the parties only have to postpone the annual assembly without any concerns about party elections.

DAP is scheduled to hold its party election in December this year.

According to its party constitution, the party congress shall meet once in three years (36 months) and every delegate shall vote for 30 candidates to be elected to the Central Executive Committee (CEC).

The party constitution also fixed that the party secretary-general shall not hold office for a total period exceeding three terms consecutively, of three years each.

Lim Guan Eng

Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng is in his third and final term as DAP secretary-general. He held the office since September 2004 and defended his position during party elections in 2008 and 2012.

However, DAP has held its CEC re-election twice due to an excel spreadsheet error on December 15, 2012. The ROS only accepted the re-election results during the party's second re-election on November 12, 2017.

The re-election has “renewed” Lim's tenure as the party sec-gen. This means the party top official has held the position for about 16 years since 2004.

It is generally believed that Lim will take over the party chairperson position in the upcoming party election, while Loke will be Lim’s successor.  - Mkini