DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang is not happy about the findings of a survey that showed 60% of Malay voters think his multiracial but Chinese-dominated party is calling the shots in Pakatan Harapan.

This is a narrative that DAP has long sought to debunk. Lim himself has been accused of harbouring ambitions to lead the country.

Before DAP came into power, his rivals said he aimed to be prime minister. After PH took Putrajaya and Dr Mahathir Mohamad was installed as prime minister, his rivals continued to spread stories of his ambitions, including seeking a cabinet post.

The latest fabrication that made its rounds during the Cameron Highlands by-election campaign was that he had tabled a motion to remove the words “Malay” and “Islam” from the federal constitution.

“In that by-election, the message was that I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam. They said I had moved a motion in parliament to drop the words ‘Malay’ and ‘Islam’ from the constitution. But this is not true and has never happened. 

“They managed to portray Lim Kit Siang as the devil and a monster,” the 77-year-old politician told The Malaysian Insight.

Asked why PH failed to make inroads with Malay voters in Jelai, the state constituency under Cameron Highlands, Lim said for lack of tactics, Umno and PAS resorted to employing the “politics of race, religion, lies, hatred and fear”.

“Ten years ago, Jelai was completely inaccessible, although now there’s a road leading into the area. It’s one of those very interior places. 

“It will take some time (for PH) to penetrate this area. I agree that we hardly made any progress… only 1-2% improvement. That itself is significant.”

Multiracial but Chinese

Two key issues Jelai voters cited for their distrust of PH were its attempt to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the November riots at the Seafield Hindu temple in Subang Jaya.

Malay nationalist groups and the opposition, led by Umno and PAS, depicted ICERD as a threat to the special constitutional positions of Malays and Islam, while the riots had racial undertones although the dispute was over relocation of the temple.

“They could have been handled in a better way,” Lim said. “But these are individual problems that you work on as you go along.”

Interestingly, MCA, which is a Chinese party, and Gerakan, which is multiracial but predominantly Chinese, have never been accused of trying to diminish the status of Islam and the Malay race.

Harder to brush off than the stories about Lim’s cabinet ambitions is the question why DAP, despite its ethos of being a party for all Malaysians, remains predominantly Chinese.

In the last elections, DAP fielded 10 Malay federal and state candidates. 

Among these 10 are Deputy Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji and state executive councillors Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, Zairil Mohd Khir and Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali.

Malays are rare in the state and central leadership, making up only two members on the 30-member central executive committee. 

In the last party elections in 2017, Tengku Zulpuri was co-opted as one of the five national vice chairmen while Zairil became one of the two national assistant publicity secretaries.

‘As Malaysian as possible’

Lim, the Iskandar Puteri MP and a federal lawmaker who has seen 11 general elections, is aware of the perception problems and confessed that his party had fared poorly in this regard.

“This is a problem that DAP has to confront. As we try to represent all the communities in our actions and organisations, this, too, has to be reflected.

“It’s easier said than done but we have to strive towards it. 

“We are all striving to be as Malaysian as possible and that includes all DAP members and leaders. In that regard, we have fallen short. And there is a need to realise that we have fallen short and adjust.”

But Lim is hopeful that the Malay dilemma in DAP and in Malaysia can be overcome. 

“(The recent survey) says 60% of Malays feel this is a Chinese government but if the same were to be asked of the Chinese, I doubt any of them would feel the same way.

“That is the crux of the problem and a reflection of the dilemma we (PH) are in.  

“(Through policy) we have to assure all racial and religious groups that they have nothing to fear and that their basic welfare will be advanced rather than denied and neglected.”

Lim knows there is still much work ahead of him, whether he is minister or not.

“Even though I’m not in the cabinet, I have responsibilities because I want to see a new Malaysia which is democratic, competitive, just and united.” – February 3, 2019.