DAP’S secretary-general Anthony Loke said the party should not be seen by Malays as an enemy.

He said Malays need not worry about the presence of DAP in the unity government. 

“We are not enemies of any race or religion. We are a party that supports the Malaysian people.

“We will fight for all Malaysians and that includes Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban, Kadazan, and all,” the Seremban MP said at the DAP national convention in Putrajaya today. 

Loke said DAP promised to practice moderate politics through the social democracy ideology as the party’s main aspiration is to ensure the well-being of a multicultural society. 

“We will uphold democracy and also principles of justice,” he said.  

Loke also lauded Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for being the first sitting president of the biggest Malay party to attend DAP’s congress. 

While praising the Barisan Nasional chairman, the DAP secretary-general also took a swipe at former two-term prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, calling the nonagenarian “forgetful”. 

“This is a historic moment in Malaysian politics as well as a record because this is the first time a sitting president of Umno has attended the congress. This is a fact and cannot be disputed,” the transport minister said. 

Loke was of the view that such a thing would not surprise Zahid, who today witnessed several party leaders giving speeches in Malay. 

He said the party respects and upholds the fact that Malay is the national language. 

“I’m sure Zahid is not surprised by all this. All of our leaders can speak Malay fluently and not only that, some of them can even ‘berpantun’ like Steven Sim,” he said. – September 10, 2023.