Will The DAP Nominate The Next Prime Minister ?

 

Just like Obama being the first African-American to become the president of the United States it is not impossible for a Chinese-Malaysian to become Prime Minister of Malaysia some day. (The Kerala Indians have already made it to the PM's post twice). 

The Federal Constitution does not restrict the position of Prime Minister by race or religion. 

(Which is why some of the State constitutions - including the Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri - need to be streamlined with the Federal Constitution.  They are 'from the past'.)

All it needs is the majority vote of the Malaysian people, plus a Chinese-Malaysian candidate who can win the trust of the majority of Malaysian voters. And that means Malay voters because Malays are in the majority.

In my view if there is one Chinese-Malaysian today who may be able to win the trust of the majority of Malaysian voters (meaning Malays lah - because Malays make up the majority of the voters) that person will be YB Liew Chin Tong of the DAP.  Two other Chinese-Malaysians who could have also won the trust of the Malay voters would be the late Mr Fan Yew Teng (DAP) and Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye (also DAP). These folks are/were truly Malaysian at heart.  YB Hannah Yeo is also in this camp. 

But firstly congratulations to YB Liew Chin Tong for winning the recent Johor DAP elections - for the fourth straight term. 

• (May 2): Liew Chin Tong retained Johor DAP chairmanship 4th straight term
• MP Teo Nie Ching, Bekok ADUN Dr Ramakrishnan deputy and vice, respectively
• Paloh assemblyman Sheikh Umar appointed vice-chairman
• Yeo Bee Yin 631 votes, Teo Nie Ching (577)

Like any other race based political party the DAP is also evolving. Nothing is written in stone. What was the rallying cry 50 years ago may not hold true (or be relevant anymore). The recent public spat between old school DAP stalwart Ronnie Liew (my good friend) and YB Hannah Yeoh and YB Liew Chin Tong about whether the DAP should retain its Chinese-ness (Ronnie Liew) or develop into a more  multi-racial, multi-cultural party (Hannah Yeoh, Liew Chin Tong) is reflective of the 'political-evolution' the DAP must and is going through. I think the DAP is headed in the right direction - mesti multi-cultural lah YB Ronnie. Maybe not 100% yet but they seem headed there. 

The DAP was born from the PAP. After Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, the local branches of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's PAP were converted into DAP branches. In  the 1964 General Election, the PAP's Devan Nair became the elected Member of Parliament for Bangsar.  Devan Nair was the sole PAP MP on the Malay Peninsula. 

It must be noted that the very next General Elections in 1969 witnessed the May 13 troubles. My view is the "separation anxiety"  arising out of  Singapore separating from Malaysia contributed a significant amount of tension in the country at that time. This aspect of the May 13 troubles have not been discussed much or looked into in sufficient detail. After the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, the Malay politicians from Johore (for example) became very vocal over Singapore, Chinese and Malay issues. One example was the 'Lion of UMNO' fellow who was from Johore.

Throughout its history the DAP has won huge support from the Chinese community. Particularly the Chinese communities that populate the 'new villages' (Kampong Baru).  The 'New Villages' or 'Kampong Baru' have also contributed not only to the rapid advancement of the Chinese community but they have also shaped Chinese political 'unity'. This is my view. Pre-Emergency (1948-1960) the Chinese community in Malaya existed along 'clan identities' with some language and even 'cultural' differences being very wide. 

During the Malayan Emergency (1948 - 1960) the British set up the New Villages and re-settled hundreds of thousands of Chinese - regardless of clan identity - within very confined spaces.  Over 600 New Villages or Kampong Baru were set up. Over time the new villages developed their own identity  - community based, centered around the Chinese school and the local temple. The super cantankerous Cantonese, Hakkas, TeoChews, Hokkiens etc   all began to intermingle in close proximity and became closer as a Malaysian Chinese community. Chinese "unity" was certainly expedited in the New Villages but at some cost to developing a multi-cultural Malaysian identity. Other non 'New Village' Chinese developed a more Malaysian outlook at a quicker pace. For example both Hannah Yeo and Liew Chin Tong were born in multi-racial, multi-cultural Subang Jaya. Ronnie Liu on the other hand is old-salt 'New Village'.  

The New Villages have come a very long way. Here is a picture of a Chinese 'New Village' in one area.  I have been there and seen it myself. All the houses there are relatively new constructions with huge bungalows everywhere (which you can see in the picture). The Chinese community has done well and we should all be thankful for that. 

The next step is for the Chinese communities in the New Villages to step out more and mingle with all other Malaysians at a more intimate level of social mixing. This is what is being suggested by Hannah Yeo but  being "resisted" by old-salts like Ronnie Liu. May I suggest that the Chinese New Villages listen to Hannah Yeoh here.   YB Ronnie kita sudah tua lah. Kasi chan orang baru.

But here is something that is entirely feasible and possible. With 42 MPs the DAP is already the single largest party in Parliament today. In 2017 (before the 14th General Elections) the Singaporeans invited me over to talk about Malaysia issues. I said at that time that the DAP was the strongest political party in Malaysia and that the DAP would win between 40 - 60 seats at the General Elections. They won 42. 

The DAP's strength is its unity and its increasingly multi-racial and Malaysian focus. For the sake of the country this trend must continue. 

Malay politics on the other hand is caca-marba, kucar-kacir, haru-biru or at best hiruk-pikuk and riuh-rendah. Asia Sentinel's latest article says the Malay vote is now split into five :

5 political forces competing for Malay votes
Malays make up 63% of Peninsula population 
77.5% of Malaysians reside in urban areas
rural constituencies - Malay heartland - 85 of 165 seats or just over 50%
Malay heartland far from homogenous
cultural variances, histories, personalities, historical issues 

• Johor traditionally Umno 
• eroded by Bersatu 
• Kelantan loyal to Pas 

My comments :  That is a true observation. It is more important to understand the why. Why are there suddenly so many Malay based parties that are vying for the Malay vote? Well simply because the Malay voter in 2021 has lost confidence in any of the traditional 'protectors of all things Malay' including Umno, Pas, Bersatu, Amanah or even PKR. None of them have delivered anything new or better to the Malays. 

The latest evidence of this loss of confidence was the most recent announcement by the most loyal group of people in the country (loyal to the governments of the day) which is the Armed Forces Veterans association. The Armed Forces Veterans have decided that they will field 50 of their own candidates in the next general elections. 

Please allow me to wish the Armed Forces veterans all the best success. Pick good people from among you and start early. Get good 'strategic' advice. 

But what does this mean? This means that the group of people who have fully proven to be most loyal to our concept of king and country are now fed up with the government. They want to take over the management of the country because they do not trust anyone else. All the others have failed.  That is the situation in the country now. 

So can the DAP continue to be the single largest party in Parliament, large enough to dominate the politics and even determine who shall be the next Prime Minister in the country?  This is not impossible. 

Here is another news report - from the losers UMNO and MCA.

• Seremban Umno Youth severed ties with NS and Seremban MCA
• Malays made up 53% of voters in Seremban 
• MCA failed to regain seat since losing it in 2008
• DAP won Seremban in 2013 (GE13) and retained in 2018 (GE14).
• GE14, DAP garnered 55,503 votes 
• BN-MCA 24,809 votes
• PAS obtained 11,506 votes

My comments :  Umno and MCA are fighting over a Parliamentary seat they have not won since 2008. 13 years ago. The incumbent MP for Seremban is from the DAP.

This is the formula that can repeat itself throughout the Peninsula in the next General Elections (GE15).  Despite Malay voters making up the majority (59%) in Seremban the DAP still won Seremban with a huge majority of over 30,000 votes in GE14. Obviously many Malays also voted for the DAP.

Now with the Malay vote being split at least FIVE ways the DAP stands an even better chance of winning the seats it contests.

The DAP now has 42 seats. I believe if the DAP can win 50 to 60 Parliamentary seats in the next GE, the DAP can nominate the Prime Minister. Because with 50 to 60 seats the DAP will certainly be the biggest single bloc in Parliament. 

No doubt the Federal Constitution does not deny a non Malay from becoming Prime Minister but a Chinese Prime Minister, especially from the DAP - does not seem feasible in the near future, despite YB Liew Chin Tong or YB Hannah Yeoh.

What the DAP needs but does not have are well regarded Malay faces within its own ranks. They found this out in Perak in 2008. Despite winning Perak, the DAP did not have a single Malay ADUN to become Menteri Besar.  Hence they had to get that PAS joker instead.  

Hence also the DAP's reliance on non DAP Malays like Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar Ibrahim may have served the DAP well since 1998 but the time has come to drop the brader. He is now a liability. He cannot hold his own party together and most of his closest lieutenants have already dumped him.  The Malay voters also do not really trust him - which is why he cannot win a convincing majority anywhere. He simply does not have the numbers.  Anwar's best days are really behind him (no pun intended). 

If I may suggest the DAP needs to get Rafizi Ramli onboard as a party member and present a 'multi-cultural' team for the next GE.   The party really needs marketable and sellable Malay names. And they have to do this with some urgency. Rafizi Ramli has proven himself as a capable and intelligent fellow. Sadly he is in the wrong party and will most likely fade away from the political scene completely. This is because PKR is history and no other Malay based party will take in Rafizi Ramli. It will be a waste if Rafizi's talents go to waste.

The future for the DAP is multi-culturalism. Ronnie Liu's comments have belied the DAP's claim of being a multi-racial party. They are not. But you dont have to be as long as you can practise multi-culturalism. If you can protect the interests of all Malaysians, especially the majority Malays, who cares what is your race or religion?

But reality can really suck. The reality is that in this country, when a group of mono-cultureds, mono-ethnics and mono-religionists get together, they always piss on people outside their grouping. So far no one is exempt from this bad behaviour, whether it is the DAP, Umno, Pas or whoever. We can build roads and highways but 'nation-building' seems to be more elusive.   

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.