Almost D-day for DAP: Will it leave or stay in cabinet?

 

This Sunday, Aug 16, more than 4,000 eligible DAP delegates will cast their votes.

They will choose whether (i) DAP leaders who are in the cabinet should resign their positions but continue to support the Madani government as backbenchers (“leave”) or (ii) DAP leaders should remain in the cabinet and serve out the rest of this parliamentary term (“remain”).

There are good reasons for the delegates to vote for DAP to remain in the cabinet. These include:

(i) ensuring a smooth tabling and debate of the 2027 budget on Oct 9;

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(ii) ensuring policy stability through this period of economic uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s policies, especially in West Asia; and

(iii) not wanting to allow BN/Umno to pull support from the cabinet and the government and trigger an early general election.

There is only one good reason why the delegates should vote for DAP leaders to resign from cabinet - which is to force Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s hand to deliver at least some political reforms before the 16th general election.

The DAP delegates and supporters of the party and Pakatan Harapan must realise by now that the prime minister only responds and reacts when there is strong pressure being put on him, whether it is by an individual, a group of people, an organisation or certain political circumstances.

This is the original intention behind DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke's call for this special congress.

Anthony Loke

It’s a way to remind the premier that DAP delegates have the power to force party leaders to resign from cabinet and to use this leverage to put pressure on the prime minister to deliver on some of Harapan’s manifesto promises before the end of this parliamentary session.

If Anwar sees that the delegates are voting for the DAP leaders to remain in government despite some of the recent political events that run counter to Harapan’s original reform agenda – no further action taken against former MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki, the blocking of parliamentary allocations of PKR MPs who are seen to be support Rafizi Ramli, the recent arrest of two podcasters, Bryan Kong and Shamsul Saad – then he will take it as a signal that the DAP delegates are willing to support him to the end of this parliamentary term, even if he does not undertake any substantive political reforms from now until the dissolution of Parliament.

DAP’s leverage

Regardless of the speeches by the delegates or the demands made by DAP leaders at the special congress or on social media, any leverage DAP may have over Anwar will disappear the moment most of the delegates vote to “remain” in cabinet.

If the delegates vote to “leave”, DAP leaders still can decide on the exact timing for the DAP cabinet members to resign.

They could come to an agreement with Anwar that they will only resign after the passing of the 2027 budget in the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara in December.

They can also negotiate with Anwar to pass crucial legislative changes, including the passage of the 10-year term limit for the prime minister and an equal parliamentary allocation act during this parliamentary session.

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These actions may not be sufficient to ensure that Harapan and the DAP remain in government for a second term after GE16, but at least DAP can say that they were willing to quit government based on principle rather than be accused of voting to protect their own self-interests.

I hope the DAP delegates will read this message and vote “leave” rather than choose to “remain”. = Mkini

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ONG KIAN MING is an adjunct professor at Taylor’s University and a former Bangi MP. He’s also not a voting delegate but still a DAP member.

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