By Niza Shimi
It’s unnerving, to say the least. That perhaps the Democratic Action Party (DAP) has morphed into a sensitive and non-confrontational political force under the leadership of secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
Take this Malay Mail news clipping when Loke was asked if DAP was satisfied with being given just four ministerial roles despite winning 40 parliamentary seats in the recent general election. Loke stressed that DAP had given its unconditional support to Anwar.
“So I placed my trust in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, he did not agree for us to not enter Cabinet. He insisted DAP must be part of the government. I left it to him, the issue of number, the issue of composition. To me, that is the prime minister’s discretion, and as far as DAP is concerned, we place the country's interests over the party's interests."
New Straits Times (NST) has described Loke as magnanimous. He holds a Master's in Public Administration from Universiti Malaya and defended his Seremban seat with a majority of 30,694 votes in the 15th general elections (GE15).On March 20 this year, he was appointed the new DAP secretary-general replacing Lim Guan Eng who was elected national chairman.
This is not the first time DAP politicians have said “we place the country’s interests over the party’s interests.”
When asked about being left out of the Unity Government, DAP chairman Lim was quoted by Free Malaysia Today as saying, “Whether I am in the Cabinet or not is secondary to the importance that the future of our country must not be stolen.
“(I am willing) to serve in any capacity so long as it serves the larger national interest that the current unity government led by Anwar can continue to function and remains stable against extremist forces seeking to undermine and topple it,” Lim said in a Facebook post.
This reconciliatory approach follows an unprecedented move by Loke and Lim to apologise to the Sarawak government and its people for words that may have offended them during Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) short-lived government (2018-2020) led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Lim was quoted by the NST as saying "The future of the country is more important. Let us make a fresh start to cooperate together to preserve the diversity, inclusiveness and unity of our multiracial and multi-cultural society, as well as protect our Federal Constitution for the benefit of all in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak," in a statement.
However, others in the DAP have voiced concerns more openly. DAP national vice-chairman Chow Kon Yeow had expressed disappointment that not even one of the seven DAP MPs in Penang was given a full minister-ship.
Chow, who is the Penang Chief Minister, was quoted by FMT, “From our initial view, this (Cabinet line-up) is not a balanced distribution. We accept that there are four DAP ministers, but the number is fewer when compared to other parties.”
It was especially impressive when DAP’s Ong Kian Ming, who chose to sit out GE15, was quoted by FMT to have said, "… 'extremist' voices should be controlled from within the ranks, adding that they would likely undermine the unity government.
“This is especially important if such voices put internal pressure on leaders to take more “extreme” positions in certain matters”, Ong added.
Having been used to a more provocative DAP style, this is a welcome change. As these are extraordinary times, such extraordinary reconciliatory tones offer assurance that perhaps the Unity Government would be the dawn of a better Malaysia.
Will other political parties emulate the image makeover of the DAP?
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