Can Malaysia’s DAP capture the Muslim and non-Chinese vote? Anthony Loke may be about to find out
- At a pivotal moment for the country, Malaysia’s biggest opposition party must overcome sniping by critics who paint it as ‘anti-Malay’ and ‘anti-Islam’
- A favourite to take the party’s reins is Anthony Loke Siew Fook, an ethnic Chinese politician fluent in Cantonese, whose appeal is said to cross ethnic and religious divides
Observers say the DAP needs to work hard to shake off its image of being a predominantly ethnic Chinese party and project a more multiracial, more inclusive approach. They say it also needs to counter a decades-long demonisation by Malay-based parties and groups that have painted it as “anti-Malay” and “anti-Islam”. Malays account for over 60 per cent of Malaysia’s population of around 33 million, while ethnic Chinese make up about 20 per cent and Indians most of the rest. A little over 60 per cent of the population is Muslim.
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Given such demographics, a party dominated by ethnic Chinese might seem an unlikely candidate as the biggest bloc in parliament.
As James Chin, professor of Asia Studies at the University of Tasmania, put it: “If you go into the street and ask people, most will assume it is one of the Malay parties that is the biggest bloc in parliament.”
However, they would be wrong. “In fact, it is the DAP,” said Chin.
With 42 MPs the DAP is currently the biggest party in Malaysia’s 222 seat parliament. Even so, analysts say it needs to reach out to Malay voters if it wants to maximise its chances of getting back into power as part of a coalition government.
“The DAP is at a crossroads because now that they’ve tasted power, they want to get back into power,” said Chin.
“They know they’ve locked in the Chinese votes and quite a significant portion of the Indian votes. These votes are not going to go away for the next one or two general elections. They will still support the DAP.”
However, Chin said the DAP had still not quite worked out the formula to “reach out to Malay and non-Chinese voters”.
UNEXPECTED POSITION
The DAP has found itself in this unexpected position of being Malaysia’s single biggest party after the Pakatan Harapan coalition it was part of collapsed in February last year amid the splintering of the biggest Malay-based party, the United Malays National Organisation or Umno. Following the 2018 election Umno had held 54 seats, but its power was chiselled away as defections left it with its current 38 seats.
However, the DAP is itself in a perilous position, analysts say, as its critics are trying to frame it as a threat to Malay interests – an accusation many say is unfair.
“DAP strives for equality of all Malaysians irrespective of their background, but such egalitarian struggle has long been pervertedly and deliberately twisted into an alleged form of chauvinism,” said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA).
Pakatan Harapan came into power following its surprise win in the 2018 general elections that ended the 51-year rule of the Barisan Nasional coalition, in which the Malay-based Umno was the biggest party.
Pakatan Harapan was also troubled by the rivalry between Mahathir and his long-time rival Anwar. Their relationship was complicated by Mahathir’s unfulfilled promise that he would handover power to Anwar.
In a series of political manoeuvres, Pakatan Harapan was replaced by the Malay-centric Perikatan Nasional coalition led by Muhyiddin Yassin of the Bersatu party. Muhyiddin is now prime minister, while Umno remains part of the Perikatan Nasional coalition in an uneasy alliance.
The rise of Perikatan Nasional has seen MPs from Umno and other parties defecting to Bersatu.
At least 15 Umno MPs defected to the party, leaving the once dominant Umno with 38 MPs, a far cry from its heyday when it commanded a two-thirds majority in the legislature. The People’s Justice Party has also suffered from defections and now has 35 seats. Meanwhile, Bersatu now holds 31 seats, making it the second biggest party in Perikatan Nasional.
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D.A.P. MPS REMAIN LOYAL
Amid the party hopping elsewhere, the DAP’s 42 lawmakers have remained loyal to the party of 200,000 members.
Anthony Loke, the party’s organising secretary who is seen as a potential leader, said there were “various offers being made to some DAP MPs to switch loyalty” but none had taken the bait.
“We are very thankful to the 42 MPs who remain committed to the struggle. Even though we lost the government, none of the MPs left,” Loke told This Week in Asia over the phone.
He conceded that some assemblymen at the state level had left, but none from the federal level had done so. In March this year, two DAP assemblymen in Perak state defected to the ruling Perikatan Nasional.
Loke said “all our MPs can differentiate between right and wrong”, and their loyalty could not be bought with “money or positions”.
University of Tasmania’s Chin said one reason for the DAP’s cohesiveness was that the party had “a very clear ideology”.
“Their leaders by and large are quite principled, none of them as far as I know are involved in high-level corruption, so that sort of brings people together, people have more respect for them,” Chin said.
Loke said DAP members had the value that “no matter who you are, how strong you are, your victory is because of the party”.
“Myself included,” Loke said. “Without the party, I am nobody. If you look at the voting, people vote for a party. Of course the candidate is also an important factor but the party will still come first.”
THE RISE OF ANTHONY LOKE
Loke, a former transport minister, is widely tipped to be elected secretary general on the back of his performance while in government.
“Anthony Loke will become the secretary general. Lim Guan Eng [the current secretary general] will probably move up to become the chairman,” said Chin.
DAP MP and former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching told an S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies webinar last week that Loke was a “favourite” for the secretary general post.
Meanwhile, Chin said part of the reason for why Loke’s star was rising was because he was widely seen as one of the most competent ministers during the short time the DAP were in government.
“Even the Malay civil servants thought he was doing quite a good job,” he said.
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Loke is fluent in Malay and is seen as a DAP official popular with the Malay community. Oh of the SIIA said he appeared to be acceptable both to the DAP faction primarily advocating minority rights as well as the faction emphasising outreach to Malays.
“He also has a hardworking and no-nonsense attitude akin to the party’s ethos, thus making him the front runner to be secretary general,” said Oh.
It helps that Loke knows how to appeal to the everyman.
“I have watched Chow Yun-fat and Stephen Chow movies since childhood. That’s where I learned Cantonese,” said Loke, who is fluent in Cantonese. His paternal grandfather came to Malaysia from Nanhai, Guangzhou and started a catering business.
Another candidate for the position is Gobind Singh Deo, the former communications and multimedia minister who is the son of the late Karpal Singh, the revered former DAP chairman and prominent human rights lawyer. A third candidate is Nga Kor Ming, former deputy speaker of parliament.
I have watched Chow Yun-fat and Stephen Chow movies since childhood
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Analysts say the DAP is at a pivotal moment, caught between maintaining its traditional ethnic minority voter base and reaching out to Malay voters in a political arena where the party is constantly “demonised” as anti-Malay and “anti-Islam” to the Malay public.
Loke warned that the DAP’s “political enemies will definitely continue to demonise the party”.
“Because for them, we are a threat to their political position. We became their bogeyman, punching bag, so that they can consolidate their support,” said Loke.
He added that the party remained intact and would not give up.
“By and large, we have been able to garner the support of non-Malays. We have built up the brand that DAP can be trusted among the non-Malays and we receive their support.
“We know the challenge will be getting the Malay support.”
University of Tasmania’s Chin expected the Malay vote to become even more important in future, predicting that every time the Electoral Commission drew up new seats, the “majority” would be Muslim Malay seats.
“The percentage of Chinese seats, not voters, will keep dropping while the Malay-majority seats will keep going up. So even if the DAP permanently locks in the urban Chinese-majority areas, it is a losing game because as percentage, they will become smaller and smaller in the coming years,” said Chin.
Chin said the only way for the DAP to get back into government was to reach out to Malay and non-Chinese voters.
“The question is – how do you do it because they haven’t found a formula yet,” said Chin.
REACHING OUT TO MALAYS
Loke said the DAP had recruited more young Malay activists in recent years and the party was hoping to develop them and give them more opportunities.
“So it’s possible in the next elections there will be some new faces,” said Loke, who also said he would not rule out the possibility of working with Umno in the event there was no clear winner.
To gain Malay support, the DAP had to modify its approach to be seen as more moderate, Loke added.
“It has to be a continuous, long-term effort to change the image of DAP among the Malay community,” Loke added.
There are signs Loke and his party are making progress.
“I can’t really speak for all Malays but for me DAP champions the interest of all Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, and gender, in pursuit of the Malaysian Dream of a just, democratic, progressive and prosperous society,” said Raja Ahmad Iskandar Fareez, 32, who has been a DAP member since 2012.
Iskandar, a Malay, believes more people are beginning to accept that the DAP stands for all Malaysians.
“If we look at the party’s recent performance in GE14 [the 14th general election], it managed to secure 42 parliamentary seats. Many of them are mixed seats. DAP couldn’t have achieved such a performance without the acceptance of voters across communities,” he said.
