DAP leaders have come out to slam their colleague Ronnie Liu over his remarks that the party should not “dilute its Chinese-ness” and cannot depict itself as a “non-Chinese party”.

Party national publicity secretary Tony Pua said that Liu’s remarks are perhaps the biggest insult one can throw at the DAP today.  

He said that MCA has ‘Chinese-ness’ themselves and they are completely at the mercy of the whims and fancies of the big brothers – Umno, Bersatu and PAS – who provide MCA with political life support.

“And yet, Liu wants the party to reverse the progress we have made for more than a decade to protect our ‘Chinese-ness’.  

“That is as chauvinist as one can get and the DAP can certainly do without such chauvinists in the party,” Pua said in a statement.

Liu, who is the Sg Pelek assemblyman, said the party need not dilute its ‘Chinese-ness’ just because of criticism from their rivals.

He said DAP has to safeguard the culture of the party, as well as the party’s constitutional spirit, and pluralistic and democratic political struggle.

“His philosophy was straightforward: stick to our overt ‘Chinese-ness’ while continuing to call ourselves a ‘multiracial party… for all Malaysians’, despite the apparent contradictions.

“His election (GE15) strategy was equally simple: ‘we need to cooperate with other Malay parties, but we shouldn’t degrade or portray ourselves as a non-Chinese party’.

Pua said he was glad and relieved that Liu was an exception and the party leadership does not support such chauvinistic principles.

He said that such a position will not only set them back many decades but will sound a death knell for the party going forward.

“My party colleagues and I want to build an all-inclusive Malaysian party based on the principles of justice, good governance and integrity.

“This has been Lim Kit Siang’s Malaysian Dream and the dream we are fighting for. It does not matter whether there are more Chinese or Indians or Malays who join the party, as long as they believe in the party’s principles.”

Pua believes that it is crucial for party leaders to propagate these principles to the Malay population, in order to enhance their understanding of their struggle and debunk the malicious rhetoric spewed by their political enemies.  

“If more Malays were to join the DAP as a result, then that will serve as proof that our efforts are bearing fruit. Ultimately, this will only strengthen the party as we aspire to achieve the Malaysian Dream.”

Meanwhile, Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh said Liu’s remarks don’t represent her, and that the DAP he wants is not the party she joined.

“I joined DAP because this party defends all Malaysians. I do not agree with his remarks.

“What is party culture? What does it mean to dilute his Chinese-ness? Isn’t this narrow and toxic thinking?” she posted on Facebook.

Yeoh also said that her experience in DAP might not be as long as Liu’s, but she cannot accept his remarks.

“My experience with DAP may be shorter than Ronnie’s involvement but I want to say here that my experience and struggle in DAP is not at all in his words. That’s enough, Ronnie.”

Yeoh said that she had stopped listening to Liu for a long time.

“But this time I cannot stay silent because he has done a great disservice to many of us DAP leaders out there who are working hard to fight off prejudices and stigmas against the DAP.

“Ronnie does not represent me. Ronnie does not speak for me. Thank you for reading,” she was quoted as saying. – April 13, 2021.