Abdul Aziz: Merit not sole determinant in DAP internal election

Merit alone will not guarantee success in DAP's internal election, said Perak DAP vice-chairperson Abdul Aziz Bari.

Aziz, who was unsuccessful in his bid to be elected to the party central executive committee (CEC) on March 20, believed there were other factors but did not elaborate.

"Is it that all who were not elected devoid of 'quality' while those who were elected did so on merit? Was I not elected due to a lack of merit? Why did 'old hands' like (Damansara MP) Tony Pua lose? Did he lack merit?

"Therefore, there must be other factors that influenced the election, not just merit," Aziz (above) told Utusan Malaysia.

The Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson has never been elected to the CEC, unlike Raub MP Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puri who was elected in 2017 but unsuccessful in his bid to retain his seat during the March 20 election.

DAP deputy secretary-general Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puri

Nevertheless, Zulpuri, who has been with DAP for 20 years, believed that the party's national delegates voted based on merit and that the DAP CEC election is a competitive process.

Despite being unsuccessful in the CEC election, and trailing Aziz, Zulpuri was co-opted into the CEC and is the party’s deputy secretary-general.

Race power base

Aziz said DAP's overwhelming Chinese membership should not be made an issue because most political parties in Malaysia appeal to different ethnic groups.

"It's just like Umno. Their power base is the Malay community. Same with PAS. As for DAP, where is its power base? Every party will aspire to fulfil its party goals.

"The rights of the Malays will not be marginalised even if there are a low number of Malays in the party," said Aziz, who joined DAP in 2015. - Mkini