DAP’s CEC election was smoothly and successfully conducted this Sunday (16 March). Here is the list of the winners and losers.
Winners: The Men and Women of Action camp led by Anthony Loke Siew Fook
The most obvious winner in this election is the Men and Women of Action camp, led by Secretary General Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
Prior to the elections, according to analysts, there were two camps in DAP – one was the Men and Women of action camp led by Anthony and the other was the True Believer camp that was led by Lim Guan Eng.
In brief, true believers are the members of DAP that were willing to stand up and fight for DAP's ideals and vision, even if it means that they have to fight a battle that they themselves know they will surely lose, against a far superior opponents, simply to stay true to what they believe to be the true ideals and principle of the party.
The men and women of action on the other hand, are practical people who realise that to have something to show in the real world, you must be willing to compromise your vision and ideals.
Now that DAP is a part of the ruling government, the mantle of leadership in DAP should rightfully past from the True Believers – who formed its leadership when it was a part of the opposition, to its men and women of action, who show a desire and capability to compromise and cooperate with those who lie outside of the party and its belief system, in order to bring DAP’s vision of Malaysia to fruition, even if it is not to full measure.
By the looks of it, the 4,203 delegates from 1,650 branches that congregated in the Ideal Convention Centre (IDCC) today (March 16), were also in the mood to support DAP’s change from a party of the opposition to the party of the ruling government, because they have decisively entrusted the Men and Women of Action camp to carry DAP forward in the next term.
Not only did Anthony Loke return as the Secretary General, Gobind Singh Deo was installed as the new Chairman of the party, to provide DAP with a more multiracial image, which will likely support DAP's image as a party of diversity and inclusivity.
That two Malay leaders were elected to DAP’s central executive committee (CEC) also shows the party is making progress in terms of diversity. Three years ago, only Young Syefura made it into the top 30 (in the CEC elections). This time around, Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan also has managed to join the list.
True Believers like RSN Rayer and Teresa Kok did not make into the central executive committee, while the leader of the True Believer camp, Lim Guan Eng, only managed to make the cut by securing the 26th highest number of votes in a 30 person committee.
Of those in the Men and Women of action camp, Gobind Singh Deo and Steven Sim have done particularly well for themselves.
After returning to the cabinet as the Digital Minister barely less than a year and a half ago, Gobind not only secured the highest numbers of votes in the CEC elections, he has also taken over the Chairman position, a position once held by his father, Karpal Singh, in this election cycle.
As for Steven, after being promoted from a deputy minister to a full minister at the same time that Gobind was elected as a cabinet minister, and the Penang DAP chairman less than half a year ago, Steven was today also appointed as the Deputy Secretary General of DAP.
Overall, it looks like the 4000 plus DAP delegates have given its leadership the mandate to continue to pursue a path of reconciliation and compromise with those who lie outside of the party and its belief system, and tame its True Believers, if they still insist on taking a firebrand and aggressive positions, to confront against those they deem do not align with the party’s beliefs and ideals.
Losers : The True Believer camp led by Lim Guan Eng
Despite raging against the light and refusing to go gently into the night, Lim Guan Eng has been tacitly pushed out from the position of power in DAP.
He only managed to secure the 26th highest vote to scrap into the 30 member CEC, and he was demoted from being the Chairman of DAP previously, to merely being the national advisor of the party today.
Not only was Lim Guan Eng tacitly ousted, his lieutenants, like Teresa Kok and RSN Rayer were not completely unable to get themselves re-elected into the CEC.
Lim Guan Eng’s star has steadily risen in the last few years. Not too long ago, he was the head of DAP, who then became the Chief Minister of Penang and then Finance Minister. However, since losing his finance minister position in 2020, Lim Guan Eng’s luck seems to have run out. After being downgraded to the chairman position from the secretary general position, today Lim Guan Eng has been further downgraded to becoming the adviser of the party.
What Lim Guan Eng will do to turn around his fortune is likely going to be one of the most interesting aspects of DAP’s politics to watch in the days to come.
Overall, the defeat of Lim Guan Eng, as well as his lieutenants like Teresa Kok and Rayer, likely signals that we can expect less confrontational and aggressive politics from DAP in the next three years.
The signal from the 4,000 odd DAP members has been crystal clear – they want the party to cooperate and compromise with those who lie outside of the party and its belief system, and not continuously confront or agitate against them.
It is too early to say whether the True Believers will be riding to the sunset after the verdict of the party in this election cycle, but one thing for sure, if all goes well, we should be hearing and seeing less of them.
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