With control of 40 parliamentary seats in the 222-seat Parliament, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) is the second-largest after the opposition extremist Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), which won a stunning 43 seats in the November 2022 General Election. Prime Minister Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has just 31 seats, but gobbled the lion’s share of ministers, including key portfolios such as finance, home affairs and education.

 

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke returned to his Transport Ministry post, but party chairman Lim Guan Eng, who is the son of veteran firebrand politician Lim Kit Siang, vanished without any minister portfolio. Mr Lim was Malaysia’s finance minister from 2018 to 2020 under the previous PM Mahathir Mohamad, who led Pakatan Harapan to defeat the ruling Barisan Nasional government for the first time since independence.

 

As a key component in Anwar Ibrahim’s multi-coalition government called the Unity Government, DAP should receive the respect it deserves in enabling the PKR president to be finally installed as the 10th Prime Minister. At the very least, the minority Chinese ethnic should not be bullied, discriminated or oppressed like during the 60 years under the corrupt and racist Barisan Nasional regime.

Yet, for two years since Anwar leading the country and Loke leading DAP, it has been business as usual as if the old notorious Barisan Nasional is back in the driver seat. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say extremism, racism and radicalization has gotten worse now than four years ago when the country fell under the control of un-elected UMNO-Bersatu-PAS Malay-Muslim backdoor regime (2020-2022).

 

Lim Guan Eng had kept quiet during those two years, leaving Anthony to run the show. But the ethnic Chinese continue to be targeted. The KK Mart “Allah” socks, the chicken ham sandwich, the Vern’s high heel logo, the beer companies sponsoring Chinese schools, the halal certification, the review of vernacular schools, and the new guidelines for Muslims participation in non-Muslim celebrations are just some examples.

 

Why are the Chinese community, despite giving 95% votes for DAP and PKR in the 2022 election, is still the punching bag of not only the PAS radicals, but also being bullied by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), supposedly an ally in the Unity Government? What’s the point of DAP having 40 MPs and more than 100 elected representatives if it can’t defend and protect Chinese basic interests?

If DAP under the leadership of Loke chooses to keep quiet 99% of the time when UMNO bullies and oppresses the Chinese, then what’s the difference between DAP and MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association), the political party which was once the guardian of ethnic Chinese until the same community it claims to represent started deserting the arrogant and out-of-touch MCA?

 

Yes, DAP today is at a crossroad as the high-stakes battle for the leadership of DAP is set to take place on March 16, 2025 (tomorrow). The contest for the DAP’s all-powerful Central Executive Committee (CEC) will shape the party – and its supporter base – in the next general election that must be held before February 2028, but could be called as early as next year (2026) as PM Anwar struggles with plunging popularity.

 

While the elder Lim retired in March 2022 after 56 years in active politics, his son – Guan Eng – is being challenged by a faction led by highly ambitious secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook to the extent that the Transport Minister reportedly tried to “persuade” the junior Lim to surrender his chairmanship. Apparently, Loke has formed a powerful alliance with Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to control the entire party.

Joining the bandwagon to dislodge Lim Guan Eng – a plot which some insiders said is betrayal of the power-hungry young politicians – are DAP vice-president Nga Kor Ming, a powerful party warlord from Perak, Penang DAP chairman Steven Sim Chee Keong (who is also Human Resources Minister), and Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo (the son of the late DAP leader Karpal Singh, who was known as the “Tiger of Jelutong”).

 

Essentially, it is an internal war between the powerful “Minister Cluster” and the powerless Lim Guan Eng. Already, several senior party veterans who are Lim loyalists, including Tan Kok Wai, an MP since 1995, Fong Kui Lun, a seven-time Member of Parliament, and deputy minister M Kulasegaran, have announced their withdrawal from the CEC race – dealing a blow to Mr Lim.

 

Make no mistake – “Lone Ranger” Guan Eng has no plan to surrender without a fight. The Young Turk’s disrespectful move to humiliate the Lim family could backfire spectacularly. The ideal formula is to have both Lim Guan Eng and Anthony Loke leading the party, playing bad cop good cop respectively to lock in Chinese supporters whilst trying to win over Malay voters at the same time.

When Guan Eng recently lectured at the DAP national veterans club dinner gathering that “DAP was never bossed around by UMNO when we were in opposition and will not be bossed around when we are in government”, his attack was not only primarily aimed at UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (who had mocked Lim that his time has passed), but was also targeted at Loke and his band of Minister Cluster.

 

Urging DAP veterans to come together to be the conscience of the party, Lim was sending a powerful message that the current alliance between DAP and UMNO isn’t permanent, but merely a “friendship of convenience”. True, the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional has 30 MPs, without which neither Pakatan Harapan (82 seats) nor Opposition Perikatan Nasional (73 seats) can form a government.

 

But it’s also true that without DAP’s 40 MPs, the Anwar Madani Government will surely collapse as DAP has enough numbers to form a new, simple-majority government with the Opposition – theoretically speaking. Therefore, when push comes to shove, the party which constitutes half of Pakatan Harapan’s 82 MPs and is the largest party in the government is the real kingmaker and all hell will break loose if it withdraws support.

Crucially, the hidden message from Lim was that DAP is being led by the nose under the weak leadership of Loke, who had cowardly called for cool heads to prevail when crooked Najib Razak’s jail sentence was slashed by half. For decades, the party has been vocal against corruption and education issues particularly in the Chinese community, and in pushing for a more even distribution of economic opportunities.  

 

Mocked and ridiculed as “Number Plate Minister” who pretended to “see no evil, hear no evil” when Chinese education and economic interest were under attack, not to mention corruption and bailout continue to flourish under Anwar administration, Anthony Loke is projected as a lame DAP leader who chose to play a subservient role in government just to cling to power in Guan Eng’s stinging message.

 

Do not underestimate Lim’s ability to make Loke runs for his money. After warning that the untrustworthy nemesis-turned-ally UMNO is bossing DAP behind the scene, thanks to Anwar and Zahid working hand-in-glove to weaken DAP, Guan Eng unleashed another bombshell which Anthony Loke would not even dare to whisper – requesting a more equitable allocation – RM1 to non-Bumiputera for every RM10 to Bumiputera.

More importantly, 64-year-old Lim Guan Eng’s strategy is not to topple 47-year-old Loke Siew Fook (who is a good manager but not a good leader), but to rally for support to retain him as the party chairman to “check and balance” the current young crop of leaders susceptible to power and corruption. After all, none of the Minister Cluster had gone to jail during the party’s struggle, unlike the Lim family.

 

It’s of utmost importance that DAP does not end up like “castrated” eunuch MCA. Sadly, after just two years in power, the party appears to resemble MCA 2.0. And it was not too long ago when Chinese voters abandoned MCA in droves. The wheel of fortune started to spin in the 2008 General Election, when for the first time since the 1969 election, Barisan Nasional under then-PM Abdullah Badawi lost its traditional two-thirds supermajority.

 

MCA lost more than half of its federal seats, losing 16 seats and retained only 15 in 2008 (it was left with only 2 parliamentary seats in the Nov 2022 election). The strong undercurrent of disgruntlement and disillusionment was due to the weak leadership of MCA president Ong Ka Ting. He was compared to the golden era helmed by Lee San Choon (mid–1960s), Tan Koon Swan (mid–1980s) and Ling Liong Sik in the 1990s.

While Mr Lee was noted for his courageous public remark “Swim or Sink with Chinese Schools”, Mr Tan was popular for his charisma, political vision and unifying efforts in bringing dignity and respect to the party. Mr Ling showed (or at least pretended) he was not spineless when he took a three-month leave of absence to protest discriminatory policies against the Chinese community.

 

This is where it appears Loke Siew Fook is similar to Ong Ka Ting. Like DAP today, MCA back in 2008 was increasingly being criticised as a “marginalised party” within Barisan Nasional, and seen as suffering from political impotence due to the hegemony of the UMNO leadership and Malay supremacy. DAP is worse because it willingly bullied by UMNO even though it is not part of Barisan.

 

The Chinese community was both furious and disappointed with Ong for his lack of political vision and being an errand-boy of the Barisan, not much difference from Loke, who was as quiet as a church mouse when UMNO extremists like Akmal Saleh attacked the Chinese. Worse, revenues from selling number plates hardly benefit the Chinese, but used to bailout Malay cronies like Sapura Energy instead.

Interestingly, many Chinese voters had questioned Mr Ong’s cowardice despite being given overwhelming support in the 2004 general election. Obviously, this is similar to Mr Loke’s cowardice despite DAP given 40 seats in the 2022 general election. Ong’s favourite reply has been – “The MCA has its constraints because, on one hand, we have to safeguard the interests of the community, and on the other, we have to maintain racial harmony and national unity.”

 

In the case of Anthony Loke, he uses Ong’s same pretext of maintaining racial and inter-religious harmony among Malaysian society to not rock the boat – even though it means Chinese education and economic interests are constantly under UMNO’s threat. Rubbing salt into the wound, spineless PM Anwar Ibrahim did not even bother to defend DAP or the Chinese voters who gave him power.

 

So, the Chinese community is asking a simple question – if DAP is no different from MCA, wouldn’t it better to split their votes for both parties in order to hedge their bets? The reason why they put all the eggs in a basket is to empower and entrust DAP with firepower to protect the interests of Malaysian Chinese. But if DAP fails to live up to the expectation, it might be time to reconsider the blind support for the party.

Why, despite given 40 MPs, DAP still has to “beg” for financial allocations for Chinese schools when, under the Federal Constitution, the community has the right to study its mother–tongue? Besides becoming apologists for PKR, the DAP (like MCA) is seen as a tool used by PKR – as well as UMNO – to garner Chinese Malaysian votes. So, while MCA was screwed by UMNO, DAP is being screwed by both UMNO and PKR.

 

Even if the Chinese’s hatred for MCA is still burning, they have the option to boycott DAP in the coming election and stay at home. Some said “Tokong Guan Eng” was cocky and abrasive. But do the Chinese want an arrogant Tokong who consistently defends the interests of the community, or an obedient Eunuch who keeps quiet when UMNO-Malays bullies the community?

 

It’s not part of Chinese culture to chase him out of office after what the so-called “Lim Dynasty” had done for the party since the 1960s. Without the Lim family, Anthony Loke and his gang would not have been able to taste the fruits today. Arguably, Guan Eng is the only DAP leader left willing to speak out about the shortcomings in government and other issues which the Minister Cluster dares not voice out for obvious reasons.

There’s a reason why Lim Guan Eng’s corruption trial is still ongoing, despite overwhelming loopholes in the charges, while all the corruption charges against UMNO crooks like ex-PM Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, stepson Riza Aziz, and UMNO president Zahid Hamidi have been thrown out. That’s because Lim refuses to become puppet of UMNO and PKR.

 

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March 15th, 2025 by financetwitter

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