Beyond the Facade: DAP Elections and a Frustrated Malay(sian)

I am writing in protest against DAP members (not leadership) who had voted in the recently concluded DAP Central Executive Committee ("CEC") elections replayed live on 29 September 2013.

 

Votes were cast, results announced and it was revealed that all seven (7) Malay candidates albeit one failed to win a CEC seat. My good friend chocolate extraordinaire Zairil Tan Sri Khir Johari was the eventual sole elected Malay CEC member. Karpal and Gobind Singh does not count as let's face it the latter is the son of the former and as for the former - who would dare cross swords with Karpal Singh though in a wheelchair?

 

What does this say? What does this mean?

For me, personally, I feel that the Chinese members in DAP have let Pakatan Rakyat and Malaysia down. When here and now we see enlightened Malaysians agreeing that affirmative actions should be based on needs rather than race, and that we should be sensitive and emphatical with the needs of the Chinese who have been ruthlessly denied Bumi housing discounts all this while, we see that the voting membership in DAP feels that it is OK to remain a Chinese party. Malay-centric policies like DEB should be REVISED they say, but then THIS is allowed to happen?

DAP is obligated to show its inclusivity by having more non-Chinese members. Social change demands fair representation. It is bad enough that DAP contests wholly in Chinese dominant areas, but the fact remains that there are Malays, Indians and others that voted for DAP. Do not fall into UMNO's trap of saying "the Chinese are against BN", let us say "Malaysians are against BN".

 

How to meet this? how to achieve this? educate? inculcate? that I leave to the DAP leadership. The problem is on your plate. Until and unless this is not rectified, DAP will remain to become a Chinese party with token memberships from other races. The leadership's call for others to be inclusive and racially-blind would be meaningless as they are not walking the talk.

 

Until there are more balanced representations, all this talk about DAP fighting for the Malays, Indians and our other Malaysians remain hot air.