KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Democratic Action Party (DAP) may be in the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition but in the past few weeks, its leaders have issued a series of bold demands, publicly pushing the very government they are part of.
Chief among these is the controversial call to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) that is awarded by independent Chinese-medium schools.
Currently, the UEC is recognised by many top international universities and local private colleges but is not recognised by the government for entry into public universities or the civil service, meaning those who have obtained the UEC are not eligible for those institutions on that alone.
DAP’s push met immediate resistance from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a partner in the unity government helmed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The Federation of Malaysian Islamic Students (GAMIS) – a non governmental organisation – also submitted a memorandum at the DAP’s Kuala Lumpur headquarters. The federation described DAP’s call as “a step backwards” in Malaysia’s education reform.
Some analysts interpreted DAP’s move as an attempt to reassure its core Chinese base that the party has not abandoned its ideological commitments — prompted by its recent drubbing in the Sabah state polls that were held on Nov 29.
Besides that, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo – who is DAP chairman – has criticised the police over a dress-code incident in Melaka, while former deputy law minister Ramkarpal Singh renewed calls for the total abolishment of the SOSMA security law.
Notably, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke also said in an interview with a Chinese language Youtube channel “The Keywords” that the party would reassess its role in the government if Anwar failed to deliver meaningful reforms within the next six months.
He however said that DAP would not withdraw support for the administration and risk political turmoil.
“After six months, whatever decision we make, we’ve already informed the prime minister that we will not withdraw our support for him, at least until the next general election,” Loke was quoted as saying by local news platform Malaysiakini.
“How we move forward, how we contest, how we prepare for the next general election – these will be discussed later.”
With 40 parliamentary seats in the 222-member lower house, DAP supplies the most seats to Anwar’s unity government made up of various coalitions besides PH.
However, former DAP Member of Parliament Ong Kian Ming told CNA that the party is facing a “crisis of confidence” not seen in decades.
“The party faces the real possibility that it could lose a significant chunk of support from its Chinese supporters in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak either through not coming out to vote or coming out to vote for ‘anyone but the DAP’,” said Ong, a former Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry who is now an adjunct professor with Taylor’s University.
“DAP’s traditional urban voter base sees the party as someone who has been unfaithful in a marriage … ‘betrayed the voters’ trust’ but has not yet divorced the party,” added Ong.
The timing of DAP’s demands — so soon after the Sabah electoral loss — has raised eyebrows among some experts.
In the 2020 Sabah election, the PH component party secured six seats out of seven it contested, some with super-majorities.
This time, however, it lost all eight seats it contested.
For a party that has long relied largely on unwavering backing by the Chinese urban electorate, the psychological blow was severe, triggering the vocal response from its leadership, said observers.
Despite the internal alarm in DAP, some analysts told CNA the party may be panicking for the wrong reasons, arguing that the localised results in Sabah do not necessarily signal a wholesale abandonment by the national electorate.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-politics-dap-vocal-push-anwar-ph-5629951
