Fielding Malay candidates: A DAP’s gimmick?
Many quarters believe the party cannot get rid of its image of promoting only one community.
Political analyst, Che Hamdan Mohamed Razali, said DAP’s move was not only to make Malays fight each other but also to to wrest power in certain states. He reminded Malay voters and Bumiputeras specifically to make a wise choice because otherwise their security and rights could change.
Mohd Hisham Abdul Rafar, Bernama
DAP’s plan to field Malay candidates in Malay-majority constituencies in the 13th general election is seen by various quarters as a mere gimmick.
Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussain said it was impossible for the DAP to free itself from its image of representing only one community.
“Every party in the peninsula cannot escape from the fact that they are fighting for a specific community,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Social Science Studies Centre lecturer said the Chinese would not support DAP if it placed a Malay candidate in a Chinese-majority area, and vice versa.
PAS secretary-general, Mustafa Ali, recently said the issue of DAP wanting to field Malay candidates in Malay-majority seats had never been discussed by the opposition pact’s leadership.
However, the DAP plan was confirmed by Selangor PAS commissioner III Khalid Abdul Samad recently, who said it was discussed at a PAS-PKR meeting.
Rumours have also been rife that the DAP would be going along this route.
Umno supreme council member and Kelantan Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Dr Awang Adek Hussin said DAP was welcome to field Malay candidates in Kelantan.
“This aspiration of the DAP is seen as an attempt to seek the support of the Malays and to prove that the party is accepted by all races,” said Awang Adik, who is also Deputy Finance Minister.
Meanwhile, DAP national deputy chief and Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw said the opposition coalition always discussed the matter of candidates in every general election.
Influential Malay leaders
Asked if DAP was formulating a strategy to field Malay candidates in Malay-majority areas in the next general election, Tan said he was not aware of it.
However, this is not something new for the DAP as it had fielded Malays candidates since it general election foray in 1969.
Why the need and what is the hidden motive in DAP’s aspiration to place Malay candidates when PAS and PKR are loaded with Malay candidates?
Some political observers think DAP is not too confident of the winnability of Malay candidates from PAS or PKR in certain Malay-majority areas.
Secondly, they think that the DAP might be forced to field Malay candidates so that one of them could be highlighted as a main personality to replace PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim to head the opposition coalition should Anwar be found guilty of the sodomy charge he is facing and goes to jail.
Political analyst, Che Hamdan Mohamed Razali, said DAP’s move was not only to make Malays fight each other but also to to wrest power in certain states.
“The strategy will allow DAP to control a state. If DAP wins the majority and has a Malay candidate to feature, the state will be under the DAP’s thumb despite having a Malay menteri besar,” he said.
The Terengganu Universiti Technology Mara (UiTM) Dungun campus lecturer said, for the strategy to work, DAP truly needed influential Malay leaders to get the support of liberal Malays. He was confident DAP would only gamble their Malay candidates in towns.
He said DAP was also seen as trying to dominate the opposition pact by highlighting Malay candidates and simultaneously controlling the administration of the states if the opposition won the next national polls.
He reminded Malay voters and Bumiputeras specifically to make a wise choice because otherwise their security and rights could change.
