LOKE GAINS STRONGER HOLD OVER PARTY
Ibrahim also believes that the results of the polls has allowed Loke to have a stronger hold over the DAP now that the transport minister is no longer eclipsed by Lim’s presence in the party.
“(Loke) will begin to steer the party in consultation with the rest of the central committee. Gobind was never the secretary-general and never seen as trying to be in control of the party. He is seen as a team player,” said Ibrahim.
Meanwhile, Chin believes that Loke is now the glue that holds the party together and that as the most senior DAP minister in government, his role is to ensure that Chinese and non-Malay interests are reflected in the budget and government policies.
He said that both Loke and Gobind will have to ensure that the DAP keep the 40 seats they have in parliament and to make sure that things like the trouble in Penang between various party factions did not occur again.
At last year’s DAP elections there, there was internal struggle between Lim Guan Eng who served as chief minister from 2008 to 2018, and his successor as chief minister and long-serving DAP state chairman Chow Kon Yeow.
“Chinese voters are very sensitive to this unity. They don’t want to see parties disunited prior to election,” said Chin.
Meanwhile, political scientist Wong Chin Huat from Sunway University said that notwithstanding DAP’s well-managed contest, its main threats come from Malaysia’s political system.
“On one hand, it is demonised as the Chinese bogeyman that subtly dominates the Anwar Government and its prudent approach to avoid escalating conflicts causes DAP to be seen as weak, tamed or silenced, and the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) 2.0,” he said, referring to the once-dominant Barisan Nasional (BN) component party that now only has two federal parliamentary seats.
“On the other hand, DAP may be bonsaied in future elections to hold on to the current 40 parliamentary seats at best and lose some in worse scenarios, which may cause a downward spiral.
“Despite its impressive performances in election and government, DAP cannot expand because those seats which it contested and lost are now held by its new partners like BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Warisan,” said Wong.
Ong – the former deputy minister – stressed that the clock was now ticking for Loke, Gobind and the “next generation” of DAP CEC leaders to show that they can use the mandate given by the delegates to steer the party amidst a tricky political environment.
“The party has to balance the interests of its largely non-Malay supporters in voicing out issues of concern publicly and within government and at the same time, to play its role as a member of the unity government to bolster the government’s popularity by the able performance of ministers and deputy ministers and to a smaller extent, the performance of its backbenchers in parliament,” he said.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-dap-anthony-loke-central-executive-committee-lim-guan-eng-future-5005556
