Democracy alive due to DAP but party has lost support

 

From Lim Teck Ghee

In a speech on the occasion of the launching ceremony of the book Lost in Transition: Malaysia Under Abdullah on April 3, 2008, I told the audience the following:

“I want to end with an important point in this analysis of what is possibly a turning point in politics in the country. Much has been written about the political leadership role of Anwar (Ibrahim) in this election – how he has played a key part in bringing DAP, PAS and PKR together to challenge the political hegemony of BN and Umno and galvanising the electoral vote for the opposition. This is true, and an important part of how future political events will unfold will depend on Anwar’s leadership. However, as a scholar looking at the longer-term ebb and flow of politics in the country – at this moment when many are celebrating a breakthrough in our political system – I wish to pay tribute to Lim Kit Siang who has been an indomitable fighter for democracy, justice and good governance.”

In December 1999, HAKAM the national human rights society had written a tribute to Kit Siang:

“HAKAM would like to put on record its tribute and appreciation to you for your selfless and fearless long public service in the quest for a more just and equitable society and commitment to the principles of parliamentary democracy and good governance.

We have no doubt that the cherished ideals and principles that you have steadfastly championed through the long years of trials and tribulations and personal sacrifices will not be in vain and your precept and example will surely be a source of inspiration and an example for the young generation of Malaysians to emulate.”

In December 2006, I wrote:

“The truly towering Malaysian – head and heels above everyone else – is Kit Siang for his unwavering principled stand on behalf of justice, truth and equality over all these years.”

To me, an important factor in where we are today in our democracy owes a great deal to the untiring efforts of Kit Siang. Through his long political career spanning over forty years, he has been a true Malaysian political giant where others have been pygmies.

That Malaysia’s democracy has stayed alive is largely because of the DAP and Kit Siang.

And we must also never forget Karpal Singh, who until his untimely demise, stood alongside Kit Siang in this gruelling political journey.

In particular, Karpal’s message to Malaysians to stand steadfast and strong for a secular Malaysia and to never give in to the religious forces pushing for a religious state needs to be reemphasised to the younger generation.

A falling rocket

Repulsing conservative forces and the challenges of rapid socio-economic disruption do not require a change in political direction but the breathing in of renewed idealism and new leadership.

Long time observers of the Malaysian political scene must be wondering what is going wrong with the DAP since its key role in Pakatan Harapan’s watershed victory in GE14.

Before the election, few will disagree, the DAP had been the leading force in the political opposition for over 40 years since its establishment in 1967.

According to its constitution, the party is committed to “a free, democratic and socialist Malaysia, based on the principles of racial and religious equality, social and economic justice, and founded on the institution of parliamentary democracy”.

The pursuit of racial and religious equality and justice for all Malaysians embedded in the party’s call for a Malaysian Malaysia has been likened by “pragmatic” analysts as akin to a political death wish or an impossible dream.

This is because in a country with an increasingly superior demographic and assertive Malay-Muslim population, conventional wisdom is that a party fighting for the equal rights of Malaysians – especially with the advent of the New Economic Policy and Bumiputera dichotomy which has polarised the country’s population emphatically into racial categories – is doomed to failure. Or the other wisdom that any Malaysian party that has a largely Chinese base would have at best a minor position in the country’s political arena.

However the impossible happened and then was reversed by the Sheraton Move and its aftermath.

Falling from grace

Despite its rapid descent into the opposition ranks once again, today the DAP still has the second largest number of federal parliamentarians in the 222 member Dewan Rakyat. It is a partner in three of thirteen states that have PH governments.

While this time in its history sees it at the zenith of its political power, it seems a paradox that the short period of 32 months since May 2018 has seen the party not only unable to consolidate its position but instead hurtle on a downward spiral.

Almost all commentators – within and outside the party – agree that the DAP has lost considerable support among the voter constituency. In GE14 the party secured over 2.1 million votes out of the 5.5 million votes cast for PH. Although PKR won more parliamentary seats (47 to the DAPs 42) it had a lesser number of voters (2.05 million). By way of comparison, Umno had 2.5 million votes while PAS had 2.0 million votes.

Following the recent controversy over the introduction of khat in vernacular schools and other setbacks to reforms aimed at fairer educational policies, the party adviser, Kit Siang had warned that “DAP would be defeated in the Iskandar Puteri parliamentary seat and would lose 30-40% of our votes in the country if an election were held now.”

TO BE CONTINUED

 - FMT

Lim Teck Ghee is a public policy analyst.

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