DAP admits counting error left Zairil out of CEC
Syed Jaymal Zahiid, The Malaysian Insider
The DAP was forced to admit last night it botched up the vote count at its polls last month that saw Zairil Khir Johari shut out of the opposition party’s highest leadership council despite a push to appear more racially-inclusive.
Newcomer Zairil — one of the handful of Malay representatives out of a total 68 candidates vying for 20 seats in the DAP’s central executive committee (CEC) — made the cut as an elected member after an audit of the December 15 polls showed it had wrongly chalked up the tabulation process.
“The error was discovered after the congress and I then notified the DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
“Lim immediately instructed that the correct results must be made public subject to an internal audit,” Pooi Weng Keong, the returning officer for the 16th DAP National Congress, told a news conference last night after its CEC meeting.
The party also conducted audits of the recount, carried out within the DAP by its election strategist Ong Kian Ming and externally by TCMK Associated Chartered Accountants.
National publicity chief Tony Pua told reporters the party immediately held a recount, which showed Zairil had won enough votes to be elected to the CEC.
He maintained the second tallying process made a slight difference to the overall outcome of the elections.
The Chinese-dominated DAP had been attacked by former vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim who alleged that Malays had no place in the party.
Zairil, the son of former education minister, the late Tan Sri Khir Johari, won the last seat in the CEC contest with 803 votes.
The 28-year-old was appointed to the CEC, as assistant national publicity secretary, after failing to be elected the first time around — a move described by the party’s critics and political foes as a damage-control exercise.
The political secretary to Lim, who is also Penang chief minister, said last night the recount validated his belief in the DAP as a party that stood for transparency and trust in the younger generation.
He added that only political foes had looked at the party’s polls from a racial perspective.
“It was made a big deal by others,” Zairil said last night.
The CEC now has two Malay representatives, the other being Senator Dr Ariffin SM Omar who was appointed as party vice chairman.
