Ramasamy shrugs off sabotage claims

Sometimes we think we have the support, but the support is not sufficient, he says.

Leven Woon, FMT

Penang Deputy Chief Minister ll and state DAP deputy head P Ramasamy today brushed aside notions that he lost in the party elections yesterday due to an ouster attempt.

“No, I don’t think there was an attempt to oust me,” he said when approached by reporters today.

He likened the party polls to a game where there are always winners and losers.

“We must accept it as the normal democratic process. Sometimes we think we have the support, but the support is not sufficient,” he said.

He said there were only limited slots in the CEC so it was about the delegates’ choice and priority.

Ramasamy and former DAP deputy chairman Tan Seng Giaw were the biggest casualties at the DAP party polls yesterday as both of them failed to make into the 20-seat centre executive committee (CEC).

Ramasamy secured 746 votes while Tan obtained 802. However, both of them were today were co-opted into the CEC through appointments.

Tan meanwhile hinted that he knew the reason behind his defeat because a friend of him had tipped him about it before the results were announced.

“The party’s maneuver is very subtle, but everyone has friends in the party, and they will tell you the actual situation,” he said.

However, the long-serving Kepong MP refused to disclose the “reasons”, only saying that he was not “neglected” by party delegates as claimed by certain quarter.

“I know the reason, it has nothing to do with being neglected. But it isn’t convenient for me to tell you, otherwise I am not a good party member,” he said.

Johor DAP vice chairman Ahmad Ton, who became a CEC member through popular votes three years ago, also did not make it this time with only 347 votes.

Ahmad said the health problems he faced might be the reason why the delegates did not give him a major support.

However, he also cautioned that party members have failed to elect any of the Malay candidates into the CEC, saying that such trend would not be good for the DAP in the long run.

“If I were to assess the result this time, all the Malay CEC members were appointed and not elected. But this is really up to the new generation of DAP.

“What is DAP? What is Malaysian Malaysia? If they are still holding the dream of one Malaysia race, such trend is not good for the future,” he said.