2 DAP leaders agree with Ronnie Liu that party has strayed

 

Former DAP assemblyman Ronnie Liu said the party has lost sight of its ideals.

PETALING JAYA: Two DAP leaders agree with Ronnie Liu’s assessment that the party has strayed from the ideals it used to champion, adding that it could affect support from voters.

On Monday, Liu, who quit DAP last month, said certain leaders seemed to have forgotten the party’s core values and were at risk of turning it into “another MCA”.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the two leaders agreed with Liu that some of their colleagues had started to lose sight of the party’s long-held ideals since becoming part of the government.

One of them, an assemblyman, said if the leadership continued “abandoning” the ideals, he would not contest in the next general election.

The assemblyman accused the leadership of yielding “to every demand” and not making its own stand, “just so DAP could remain in power”.

“Some of the decisions feel like it is going against our own identity as a party,” he told FMT.

According to him, the Pakatan Harapan leadership tended to be more sympathetic to Barisan Nasional’s demands than those of its own component parties.

The assemblyman also felt that DAP was being used to win over Chinese votes for the unity government.

He said many agreed with Tony Pua’s remarks on Umno, but were disappointed the party did not back the former Damansara MP.

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At a DAP fundraising dinner last month, Pua said PH supporters must prove that “a multiracial party that is clean and not corrupt” could do better than “corrupt” coalitions and parties such as Barisan Nasional, Umno and Bersatu.

Meanwhile, the second DAP leader said the party could turn into “another Umno” if it “continues to do what it is doing now”.

“If this goes on, we will not only be irrelevant like MCA but will also start having many camps within the party like Umno,” the former MP said.

He said this could affect support for the party in the coming state elections.

“The chances of Chinese voters supporting Perikatan Nasional are slim, but it is possible many will not show up to vote,” he said.

“This is because one of the main things we told our voters in GE15 was that we reject corruption and corrupt leaders, including those from BN.” - FMT