Are Chinese voters still angry with DAP?

Chinese Malaysian voters are angry that DAP could not get UEC (the Chinese school-leaving exam) recognised, and was unable to stand up against Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he was prime minister, said respected political analyst James Chin of the University of Tasmania.

“The Chinese electorate can be unforgiving,” he added.

But, I wonder, how could DAP “stand up” against Mahathir when even PKR (which had more Parliament seats than DAP – 47 vs 42) was unable to do so?

What did the Chinese want DAP to do back then? Pull out of the government? And then what? See PKR and Bersatu form an alliance with Umno or GPS to form a Malay-majority government? That’s called cutting your nose to spite your face.

If DAP did withdraw, one suspects the same hypercritical kopitiam crowd would then condemn it for “abandoning the mandate” to do reforms and for being the “most stupid politicians in the world”! Oh, they would moan, better for the ‘sei sor ha’ DAP to stay in government and “do something” rather than have no voice at all.

The Chinese are supposed to be good at numbers but perhaps they had forgotten that Harapan could not form the federal government after the 2018 elections without the 13 seats from Mahathir’s Bersatu party. If you add up all the Harapan + Warisan + independent seats but minus Bersatu, you only get 109, three short of a simple majority in the 222-seat Parliament.

Don’t forget that Bersatu later managed to double its number of MPs to 26 by enticing frogs from Umno to hop over. Mahathir was cunning and knew how to strengthen his party’s position.

Bersatu reluctant on reforms

Yes, the Chinese have every right to be angry with DAP (and Harapan) for unfulfilled promises. But PKR MP Wong Chen recently revealed an open secret – Mahathir held the key to power and was not keen on real reforms. Even the reform committee report led by his ally Daim Zainuddin was kept secret.

And remember Bersatu vice-president Abdul Rashid Ab Rahman said it was "stupid" for the Harapan government not to give away government contracts to benefit party leaders (never mind if they were unqualified). He got a standing ovation. Clearly, the blood of money politics runs in the veins of Bersatu, many of whom are ex-Umno people.

Bersatu vice-president Abdul Rashid Ab Rahman

Don’t talk about the UEC promise. Even Anwar could not force Mahathir to fulfil his promise to hand over power. He had to back down during a showdown meeting because Bersatu threatened to cause the government to fall.

Which they did anyway soon after with the Sheraton Move.

For all the sins of Bersatu, it seems strange that Chinese Malaysians want to vent their anger on DAP. This is like a husband taking it out on his wife because his boss has been horrible to him.

Malay deep state

I am not an apologist for DAP or Harapan. I have written about how I was deeply disappointed with the Selangor Harapan government for their plans to chop down forest reserves. Was there collusion with housing developers?

But is Chinese anger against DAP justified? The party was caught in the middle, condemned by both sides when Harapan ruled. Umno and PAS accused it of “controlling” the government against Malay interests while Chinese voters accused it of being “too weak” against the Malays in the same government. They can’t both be right!

Normally, such a double pincer movement against DAP is done by Umno and MCA. Why are Chinese voters taking over MCA’s role?

It is not just Bersatu that is reluctant to reform. As James Chin wrote, the Malay establishment is “so profoundly committed to the racist ideology of Ketuanan Melayu Islam” and seems to be blocking Anwar Ibrahim because he is regarded as being “too liberal”. This includes him calling for government help to be given based on need, rather than race.

Chin explained that this “establishment” (some call it “deep state”) comprises senior civil servants and police/military officers, heads of GLCs, Malay tycoons, and members of royalty. In other words, a truly reformist Anwar and Harapan will upset too many durian carts.

During the Azam Baki shareholding scandal, all three MACC deputy commissioners dismissed the allegations against their chief as “politics of revenge”.

Don’t forget that Azam and his three deputies were all top civil servants when Harapan was in power. So are they part of a “deep state” defending the status quo? Is the DAP to be blamed for this?

MACC’s Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya (operations), Norazlan Mohd Razali (prevention) and Junipah Wandi (management and professionalism)

Chinese wanted political nirvana

It seems to me that Chinese Harapan supporters, in their state of bliss after the 2018 victory, wanted nirvana. And they wanted it now! In their ecstatic state, they overlooked the hard realities of Malaysian racial politics.

First, as the latest census reveals, bumiputeras are now almost 70 percent of the population, while the Chinese are only 23.2 percent. With the manipulation of seats, urban votes are worth much less than rural votes. And Muslims are becoming more conservative.

Second, it takes time and a lot of work to counter 60 years of programming that the Malays are “threatened” by the Chinese, even though most of the big corruption scandals affecting the Malays (1MDB, Felda, Tabung Haji, Mara, etc) have nothing to do with the “evil” DAP/Chinese.

A Merdeka Center survey showed that only 25-30 percent of Malays voted for Harapan. As PAS and Umno continued their poisonous propaganda, Malay support slipped further (as seen in several by-elections.

To address this, the Harapan government moved towards more pro-Malay policies, like allowing Zakir Naik to preach. But this led Chinese voters to declare that DAP was weak or had “sold out” and was only interested in “clinging on” to their ministers’ posts (like MCA 2.0!).

DAP was basically caught between a rock and a hard place. Short of the nuclear option – pulling out of the government – it had no real leverage to force changes in policy. They also could not be too vocal in a political environment where they were accused of being the Chinese “puppet masters” of the Harapan government.

So it resorted to quietly persuading the old man (Mahathir) and working in the background. The delicate situation then is well explained by Damansara MP Tony Pua in his three-part reply to Mahathir’s attack on him in December 2021.

Not voting = surrender

As seen in the Malacca state elections, many Chinese will simply not vote because of anger towards Harapan, or frustration with the Sheraton Move frog festival. Some may cite fears about Omicron, though they have no problem going to the supermarket. And it doesn’t help that Anwar looks tired as opposition leader.

But failing to vote is equal to giving BN a walkover win, and possibly allowing convicted felon Najib Razak to return as the next prime minister if Umno's "court cluster" gets its way. Many Chinese were angry that Najib was not immediately put into an orange jumpsuit in 2018. They should consider his pink lips smiling at them from portraits in every government office again, thanking them for going to yum char instead of voting!

It’s always been said that the Chinese are rational people who vote with their brains, not their emotions. I hope I’ve partly addressed why their anger against Harapan could be misplaced.

Reform is not easy but it is possible. Look at how Harapan has been increasing its majorities in both the Penang and Selangor state governments since 2008 (despite Umno’s racial rhetoric) as more people (especially Malays) understand that good, clean administration benefits them.

While many Chinese have already sent their children overseas, they should also think about their friends and relatives who can’t migrate. So please, do the right thing and at least show up to vote. - Mkini

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ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.