THE DAP-led Penang government is targeting support from more than 50% of the Malay majority constituencies in the state, acknowledging it cannot depend on non-Malay support forever to stay in power, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yew.

However, Chow conceded that it will take some doing as DAP has to fight the perception the party is a threat to Islam and Bumiputera rights.

“We understand that we cannot rely on non-Malay and non-Muslim support forever,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“In the past few elections we worked with other parties in a coalition and we saw a different Malaysia emerging, and we understood that we do not necessarily have to rely on DAP’s brand to achieve our goals,” he said.

Chow said DAP has been falsely labelled as a threat to Islam and Bumiputera rights by Malay parties for the past 50 years.

He said it is therefore unavoidable for the Malays to have a bad perception of the party, and DAP is working hard to increase its support from the community.

“DAP had even set up branches in settler areas previously, but the results were not encouraging.

“So in the 80s, DAP started co-operating with Malay parties to get the community’s support,” Chow said.

Similarly, he said, even the dominant Umno currently works with PAS in Muafakat Nasional and supports Perikatan Nasional.

Chow said interparty alliances have become the norm in the past 20 years, and both MN and PN are proof of the importance of such coalitions.

Chow said Penang is similarly governed by a coalition, Pakatan Harapan, with different parties each pulling their weight to attract Malay support instead of relying on the DAP rocket.

“By campaigning as PH, all parties are using their respective strengths to get support.

“We understand very well that using only DAP’s brand to attract support is not ideal, but the state government’s performance can also win over the people,” he said.

Despite this, Chow said, there is still no way for DAP to gain the support of 50% of Malay majority constituencies in Penang even though the party has led the state government for three terms.

He said it is enough to have 25% to 35% support from each racial group.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has repeatedly said that the party is for all races, but the party has been consistently demonised by its opponents and is having a hard time navigating political waters as a result.

Chow denied there was pressure on his administration’s governance due to constant attacks by Malay parties, but said DAP cannot govern alone in the state.

He added that winning the support of only one race is not enough, only through the support of all communities can victory be achieved.

The chief minister said Malay politics have also become more diverse in the peninsula, and Malays have many parties to choose from apart from the dominant Umno and PAS, with Bersatu and Amanah having emerged as alternatives.

Under such circumstances, he said, even Umno is having a harder time retaining Malay support.

Penang has 40 constituencies, with 21 seats needed to form the state government. Currently, DAP holds 19, followed by PKR with 14 seats. Amanah, Umno and Bersatu each have two seats and PAS has one.

After the defection of two Bersatu assemblymen and two PKR lawmakers, the opposition bloc now consists of seven assemblymen. – August 23, 2020.