DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke says delegates will vote on whether the party should remain in Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government or return to the opposition back benches following recent electoral setbacks
PUTRAJAYA: DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke today acknowledged the political cost of being in government as he put the party’s future in the unity administration to a vote, with delegates to decide whether it should remain in power or return to the back benches.
Loke said DAP had to bear the political fallout from unpopular government decisions while facing criticism and protest votes, making its continued participation in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration a difficult choice.
“When we are in government, there are constraints and weaknesses that we have to bear together.
“Any unpopular government decision, as a party in government, we have to bear the responsibility together,” he said in his speech at the DAP national congress here today.
He said delegates would have to decide whether DAP should remain in government until the end of its term to pursue the reforms it had promised, or return to the back benches and act as a pressure group.
“Do we remain in government until the end of the term to continue carrying out our duties, trying to influence and bring the changes and reforms we promised, or do we play the role of a pressure group and return to the back benches?” he said.
Loke said the decision followed a series of electoral setbacks, including DAP’s heavy defeat in the Sabah state election last year, which he said had delivered a clear message from voters.
The party also suffered major losses in the Johor and Negri Sembilan state elections, adding to an internal debate over its position in the unity government.
He said the Central Executive Committee (CEC) had decided that a decision of such magnitude should not be made by the party’s 40-member leadership alone, but collectively by delegates.
Loke said DAP’s current stint in federal power had also outlasted its first experience in government following the 2018 general election.
The party’s first stint lasted only 22 months, while its current tenure has reached almost three years and eight months.
Loke subsequently sought permission from the congress chair to bring forward a resolution on the CEC’s recommendations for immediate debate and voting.
Under the original agenda, the CEC report was to be presented as the second official business, while the resolution was scheduled as the seventh item.
After receiving approval, Loke proposed that delegates debate the resolution immediately before deciding on it through a secret ballot.
CEC member Nga Kor Ming rose to support the proposal.
Loke said the decision was difficult but should ultimately be left to delegates as part of a more democratic decision-making process.
“We are democratising this decision-making process and leaving it to the wisdom of the delegates to determine the party’s direction,” he said.
