Power struggle in the DAP
As the general election draws near, rival groups in the DAP are lobbying for their faction members to be picked as candidates, causing old animosities in the DAP to resurface.
In Perak, the tussle for control was won by the Foochow cousins – state DAP Chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham and secretary Nga Kor Ming — against then deputy chairman M. Kulasegaran and organising secretary Thomas Su.
Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star
LIKE in Perak and Selangor, the problems in Johor’s DAP has to do with two party factions vying for control – control to decide who gets to contest in Johor – a state which Pakatan Rakyat considers a winning state in the next general election.
The problem is state chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau is not in the good books of DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Dr Boo is independent-minded and controls the state DAP quite firmly while Lim has been looking to develop an alternative leader in Johor who can cut Dr Boo down to size or even take over the state’s chairmanship.
One of only two doctors in the DAP leadership, Dr Boo also holds a law degree and is seen as a party dissident along with Datuk Teng Chang Kim.
The two are always elected to the central executive committee (CEC) as outsiders and are not part of Lim’s line-up.
“He is a no nonsense person.. definitely not a yes man to Lim,” said a Perak DAP member.
Lim wants his man in Johor like in Selangor and Perak, two states that saw a hard tussle for power and were finally won by people loyal to the party secretary-general.
The choice of candidates in Johor, to be recommended by the state leadership and accepted by the central CEC, is causing old animosities to surface.
Public demonstrations, rare in the DAP, against Dr Boo outside a mall in the Bakri division in Muar have been organised.
The demonstrators carried placards and banners and shouted slogans accusing Dr Boo of being autocratic and pushing for the Johor DAP secretary Tan Chen Choon, the husband of Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan, to contest the Bentayan state seat.
Fong has distanced herself from all party functions and it is unclear whether she will be nominated to contest.
The demonstrators have the tacit support of the powers that be in the DAP and are seen as having the backing of DAP’s Gwee Tiong Hiang, the Bentayan assemblyman, whose membership in the party was recently suspended for six months for allegedly diverting party funds to buy a four-wheel-drive.
Gwee was being groomed to take over from Dr Boo but has fallen short of the expectations of party leaders and it is unclear whether he would be renominated.
In the meantime, Dr Boo is said to be pushing Tan, the Johor secretary and loyalist to Dr Boo, as the candidate for Bentayan to replace Gwee.
The demonstrators argued that Tan had a poor track record in serving the people and should not be the candidate.
Infighting in Johor DAP is becoming rampant as the election draws near and rivals groups are lobbying for their faction members to be picked as candidates.
Dr Boo will have a big say as he is chairman and also controls the state DAP with an iron hand.
His few detractors have become the “eyes and ears” of the central leadership.
In Perak, the tussle for control was won by the Foochow cousins – state DAP Chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham and secretary Nga Kor Ming — against then deputy chairman M. Kulasegaran and organising secretary Thomas Su.
The winning factions than elevated Tronoh assemblyman and former state speaker V. Sivakumar to replace Kulasegaran as the new deputy chairman and Teh Hock Ke to replace Thomas as organising secretary.
Kulasegaran’s candidacy in Ipoh Barat for the next general election is in question ever since the defeat.
Both men did not even make it to one of the 15 for the CEC.
This is the reason why Dr P. Ramasamy is in trouble with Karpal Singh for saying in a Tamil newspaper last week that Kulasegaran and four others will contest in the next general election in their respec- tive seats.
Karpal warned that Dr Ramasamy is acting like a warlord by announcing candidates even before the CEC has decided.
In Selangor, Teng, also the state speaker, put a line-up against another fielded by Lim which was led by Teresa Kok, the Seputeh MP.
Kok and her entire line-up nearly lost to Teng’s but were saved by Ronnie Liu, the disgraced Selangor exco member and loyalist of party supremo Lim Kit Siang, with whom Kok formed an alliance that brought about 200 voters to her side.
Old animosities in the DAP are resurfacing in Penang, Perak, Selangor and Johor – all key states – as the faction leaders and members battle to be picked as candidates in the upcoming general election.
The race to be a candidate is causing upheavals in state DAPs because the winners in the state elections want to ease out some of the losers and naturally put in their own supporters as candidates in their place.
But the losers are holding out and lobbying for one more term.
