Rubber stamp claim not true, DAP open to diverse opinions: Ngeh

 

A senior DAP senior leader has disagreed with the claim by DAP veteran Liew Ah Kim that the party's central executive committee served more like a rubber stamp rather than giving due consideration to other views.

According to DAP assistant national treasurer Ngeh Koo Ham (above), the party always provided an opportunity for CEC members to express their views and opinions.

“The statement is untrue. There is always an opportunity to express one's views in the CEC.

“However, if your views are not accepted by the majority, that does not mean that there is no democratic space in the CEC. Democracy means the minority has to also accept the views of the majority,” said Ngeh when contacted by Malaysiakini.

The Beruas MP added that the party not only allowed the committee members to express their views but there was also room for discussions and room to persuade others.

“If initially, you are in the minority, you can try to persuade others to support your views. If you succeed, then your view becomes the majority view.

“From my years in the CEC, there was always room to ventilate one's views but your views may not always be accepted by the majority. That is normal in a democratic setting,” explained Ngeh who is a current DAP CEC member.

Liew Ah Kim

In a recent interview with Malaysiakini, Liew said DAP's mechanism for selecting parliamentary and state election candidates should be reformed to improve internal democracy and to allow the expression of dissenting views.

He suggested the selected candidates should get approval at every level in the party and the final decision “should come through the central working committee (CWC) which comprises seven to nine members”.

Liew, who is currently 83 years old, has made his comeback for the DAP election this year after he retired from politics in the early 2000s.

DAP earlier announced that they had obtained permission from the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to postpone its national congress and party elections by up to six months.

DAP was originally required to hold its party congress no later than by the end of 2020 but the party had appealed for a six-month postponement in light of the sharp increase in Covid-19 cases following the Sabah state elections last September.

Currently, there are a total of 86 candidates vying for the 30 posts in the party's CEC including Ngeh, Ah Kim and Chin Tong. - Mkini