DAP has time and again disappointed us by going against its own principles.
The party claims to be fighting for a free, democratic, socialist, Malaysian Malaysia and that its struggle is based on the principles of parliamentary democracy. But good rhetoric will no longer delude the rakyat into thinking that it is a democratic party or that it represents an alternative to the current federal administration.
After a recent party election, Tony Pua was reappointed Selangor DAP Chairman although he came in eighth in the contest for the 15 posts in the central committee. In fact his performance was abysmal. He garnered only 495 votes. Yet, for the top party post in Selangor, DAP preferred Pua over Gobind Singh, who received the highest number of votes at 736.
We have not forgotten the noise DAP made after the 13th general election, when Barisan Nasional (BN) lost the popular vote but still took the most number of parliament seats. Has DAP abandoned its stand that the popular vote is the determinant in electing a leader? Was Black 505 done just for the sake of political posturing?
DAP has been arguing that the current first-past-the-post election system is not democratic. However, its own election system is no better. Someone can become a state DAP chairman in defiance of voices from the grassroots.
We’ve heard Lim Guan Eng preaching many times about democracy and championing the concept of meritocracy. However, his own party’s system is just as guilty of undermining democracy and meritocracy. Yeo Bee Yin received merely 384 votes and lost her seat in the Selangor DAP committee. Yet, she is back in the committee by appointment.
There’s a stink of nepotism and favouritism in the entire system. Clearly, the voters’ voice does not matter. What is the point of staging an election when the results do not really matter to the leadership?
In the state of Penang, the situation is no better. Chow Kon Yeow, DAP’s new state chairman, is the member of the Penang State Assembly for Padang Kota. He garnered the highest number of votes at 654 out of 876 and clearly enjoyed strong support from the grassroots. Some 75% of DAP members in Penang wanted Chow Kon Yeow to lead them and, by extension, the state of Penang. But he will never become Chief Minister as long as Lim Guan Eng is in power.
By right, a Chief Minister should prove himself worthy of the position by competing in the state election. That, in fact, is the only way for him to gain legitimacy. The current Chief Minister is not even a Penangite and did not even compete in party elections in the state.
Is Guan Eng the Chief Minister of Penang only because he is the son of Lim Kit Siang? Doesn’t this show that eventually, even in DAP, nepotism and dynastic interests will prevail?
One thing is clear: DAP is not a real alternative to the current government. Grassroots voices do not matter much to it. DAP is hypocritical and its democratic ideals are mere illusion.