INTERVIEW | Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has gotten accustomed to shifting political allegiances in the 16 years since she was first elected to office but admitted that it was “very painful” to hear harsh words from former allies.
She said this when asked how it felt when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad questioned the loyalty of non-Malays and Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman labelled DAP a “lapdog” to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“I want to start off by saying that there are good and bad people in every party and I think we tend to attract people of the same value system.
“And over many years I have had very good friends in politics even though coalitions have changed. PAS is no longer together with DAP like it was in Pakatan Rakyat (from 2008 to 2015) but I have very good friends in the form of somebody like the late Abdul Rani Osman, the Meru assemblyperson who passed away.
“I’m still in touch with his family until today. And despite us coming from different coalitions, I went out to have a meal with him and we kept in touch until his dying days,” she said of the assemblyperson who died last January.
Nonetheless, it was very difficult to hear her friend Syed Saddiq lash out against DAP, calling the party “hypocrites, power-hungry, and without principles” in a clash with vice-president Nga Kor Ming last September.
“I’m close to Syed Saddiq and I understand that this young man believes in a multi-racial Malaysia. You have to give him credit for that.
“I don’t really know what to say because I have not commented on this publicly, but yes definitely there is some hurt.
“I have friends in Muda but where we are today, especially after Muda contested against the DAP in the last state elections, that was quite hurtful for us. It is still quite hurtful,” said Yeoh.
“I am sure that if you speak to Muda, they will also tell you that they also encountered some hurt because they wanted to be part of Pakatan Harapan (but) they were not accepted,” she added.
Yeoh said that, by now, after having multiple coalitions, all political parties understand that when you fight healthily in the political system, you need to still consider that one day you may have to work with your opponents.
“If we truly find similarities in our struggles and put aside our differences, Malaysia can actually catch up.
“I talk about catching up because I feel that we are really experiencing a setback by a few years or maybe some people would say decades.
“Whether it’s the education or the economy, I know the prime minister is really trying very hard to move forward and I just hope that Malaysians will really have more patience,” she said.
DAP’s challenges
Yeoh conceded that if DAP is to be an agent of change for the nation, it has to accomplish something it hasn’t done since its founding in 1965, which is to shed its baggage as a minority-rights party dominated by Chinese leaders.
“I can only compare 2024 now versus 2008. I look at where we are today and MPs like Syahredzan Johan, Rara (Young Syefura Othman), and Syerleena Abdul Rashid playing their role in Parliament and I know we have made progress.
“We are definitely stronger as a party when we are diverse, and diversity is our strength. So this is something internally, we speak about it a lot, about how we should be fielding more candidates who are diverse.
“I would really want to see more Kadazan leaders, Iban leaders being fielded to represent the DAP and I know we will get there. There really is no such thing as sidelining (non-Chinese). It’s really about finding the right candidate and people who are willing to join us,” she added.
She said with the opposition coalition being dominated by two parties that focus on race and religion, it was no surprise that there was a heated atmosphere with DAP being targeted.
“There’s a lot of fitnah (false allegations) out there till today. I’m still seeing TikTok calling us DAP evangelists, DAP Cina, and all that.
“So that fierce allegation is still happening online to frighten Malays away from joining the DAP. For me, the best way to counter such a narrative is to work really hard to prove to them that when they have to choose between a PAS leader or a DAP leader in their kawasan (area), they will be able to assess for themselves and not be fearful in choosing a DAP leader.
“That’s why all of us work extremely hard to find the right candidate and prove that we are able to serve all races and all religions,” she added.
Evolving coalition politics
While DAP and Pakatan Harapan are key pillars of the unity government, it would be wrong to ignore the signs that rebranding is needed for the future.
Throughout Yeoh’s career, she’s seen her party move from alliances first with PAS, then Bersatu, and finally even Umno in the current coalition government.
She declined to be drawn on the suggestion that Harapan parties such as DAP, PKR, and Amanah consider a merger into a single party without the baggage of the past, to consolidate progressive, multiracial forces.
Yeoh was also unable to comment on whether the new relationship with Umno and BN could turn into a formal coalition ahead of the next general election.
“I'm not part of the presidential council, but I do know that all of us want to survive the first term of the coalition. And I really don’t want to be distracted by any discussion on how it’s going to change and look because I feel that something like that needs to be discussed at all the congresses and let the party leadership then make those calls on what is best,” said Yeoh.
“I look at the last 15 years and many times I thought - Oh no. we’re just going to lose it, we’re not going to win anything - but they managed to pull through.
“So I have a lot of faith in our leadership that they really have a lot of experience dealing with this.
“And one thing I like about the Harapan leadership is that they are really flexible enough to understand what is good for the nation versus what they want as a political coalition, and sometimes they have to give up what they want because of what good that can come out of their sacrifice for Malaysia to have, you know, just better governance,” she added. - Mkini
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