WITH no fresh elections in sight, even though this government is clearly lacking in numbers and only sustained by the pandemic and the suspension of Parliament, attention would inadvertently shift to DAP’s internal poll, which is slated for June 20 – provided the country is not in another lockdown at that time.

While the stake for a national poll is ultimately higher because it is a democratic decision on who should govern, party polls are not a matter we should easily disregard as those who command the party dominate the decision on whose name should be in the ballot paper.

When there is a contestation of political power, debates, arguments or even an ugly slugfest would normally ensue, and therefore cracks are beginning to show in this party, even though it is still enjoying an indomitable parliamentary advantage of 42 seats, which is unmatched by any other single political party.

The bell was first struck when Ronnie Liu said DAP, as a multiracial party, should not resort to diluting its base, which is predominantly non-Malays, merely to gain Malay support.

The remarks have obviously invited a plethora of criticisms. Hannah Yeoh retaliated that the DAP Liu wants is not the DAP she joined.

Meanwhile, Tony Pua has even gone as far as labelling Ronnie Liu a Chinese chauvinist that the party does not need.

It is important to first dissect why Ronnie Liu has made such a controversial statement before accusing him of chauvinism.

I do believe he has made that statement partly in highlighting some of the failed promises and concerns felt by the Chinese community since PH came into power.

While Yeoh and Pua’s criticism may still stand given the incendiary language Liu has adopted, neither of them tackled the elephant in the room: whether DAP has really taken for granted the 90% Chinese support they have garnered during the last election just to appease the Malay demographic.

Truth to be told, supporters of DAP may have been taken for a ride during the 22 months under PH reign. The jawi Issue was a PH disaster but DAP suffered the brunt of the criticism and was heavily rebuked at that time because it was seen to relent against right wing conservative forces.

The Chinese community was also disappointed by how Tunku Abdul Rahman University College funding was manipulated into a political issue by former finance minister Lim Guan Eng, only for him to U-turn after PH suffered a humiliating by-election defeat in Tanjung Piai.

PH and DAP had promised the immediate recognition of the UEC upon election, but that recognition looked all the more forlorn when DAP ministers were ensuring that then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad ruled the cabinet like a “first without equals” rather than “first among equals”.

This is the political context that has compelled Liu to believe that DAP may have deliberately deviated from the promise it has made to its electoral base out of Malay anxiety.

For example, the rush to ratify the UEC might affect Malay sentiments and would be a political suicide for any Malaysian government.

Yet this is the one issue that PH and DAP had campaigned hard on and with that the Chinese had chosen en masse to throw their support behind DAP.

In this case, the democratic spirit of the elected government honouring its promise to the electors should be honoured and defended regardless of anyone’s opinion of the UEC.

Calling for the immediate recognition of the UEC from a PH government is not chauvinistic, but rather holding the PH government feet to the fire.

Therefore, instead of calling Liu a Chinese chauvinist, it would be more apt to label him a political operator who responds to the needs of his party’s constituents.

Another interesting debate that emanates out of the friction between Liu and the other two, which has been somewhat summarised as the dispute between Chinese chauvinists and English chauvinists in DAP, is also the identification of the party.

The likes of Yeoh might like to say DAP is a multiracial party that aims to serve all Malaysians regardless of race and religion, but the reality is DAP remains a political party that is mainly ruled, operated and mobilised by Chinese.

Most of the parliamentary seats that DAP has contested are dominated by Chinese constituents, and this includes Yeoh and Pua’s very own Segambut and Damansara seats.

It is noble to preach about colourless politics but the question of the UEC, equal opportunities in education, minority rights – which most Chinese are concerned about – would continually shadow DAP everywhere as long as DAP is actively soliciting the support of predominantly Chinese.

Therefore, what Liu has been saying all this while is merely a reflection of where the Chinese sentiments stand and how the community generally views the performance of DAP in that 22 months.

It is useful for the DAP’s highest operatives to take stock of that before going to the party polls on June 20. – May 2, 2021.

* Kenneth Cheng has always been interested in the interplay between human rights and government but more importantly he is a father of two cats, Tangyuan and Toufu. When he is not attending to his feline matters, he is most likely reading books about politics and human rights or playing video games. He is a firm believer in the dictum “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.