‘Missing’ delegates at Penang DAP convention
Most of the delegates were missing for the afternoon session while the others were more interested in the private conversations rather than the speakers.
Hawkeye, FMT
GEORGE TOWN: Penang DAP held its convention yesterday and the most notable event that happened was that by afternoon half the 300-odd delegates were “missing”.
Those who remained were either having a snooze or were talking among themselves, paying scant attention to the speakers.
This prompted Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who, by nature, is reserved to say that perhaps they should have lucky draws with cars and condominiums as prizes.
Chow’s remarks may not apply to Penang alone. There was a poor turnout at the Selangor convention and the situation was similar in some other states.
But Chow, being the wily old politician, corrected himself by saying it was the same for other political parties.
But, here Chow, the Tanjong MP, stand to be corrected.
At the PAS muktamar, one had to line up to use the restrooms, while at the Umno general assembly, they sat on the floor to listen to the proceedings.
“We should not read too much into it as this is not an election year at the state level,” said state DAP Youth activist Chris Lee.
Testament of power
DAP’s power base basically revolves around Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and parts of Johor.
It now also has a growing presence in Sarawak and a moderate representation in Sabah.
A political observer here, Ng Whien Chin, says DAP has always been a top-heavy organisation in terms of active members .
“DAP, however, is a party populated more by high-octane personalities than those with a crowd following. The exception now is DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng who is popular among the grasssroots,” Ng said.
Lim would be revered in DAP and become its permanent statesman, if he can deliver Putrajaya, similar to how his father Kit Siang had managed the party through the turbulent years , Ng claimed.
Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi shares the same view as Lee over the turnout, saying that usually, conventions only have a reasonable turnout – not an overwhelming one since there is no election.
But Ng does not agree. He says from a neutral view, accumulating a crowd is a testament of power and to illustrate to the fence-sitters that DAP is not to be taken for granted by either Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional.
“Penang has one of the highest number of fence-sitters as the people here are highly educated and independent-minded.” he said.
