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Race tiff tempest hits DAP

PETALING JAYA: A remark about DAP by its central committee member Ronnie Liu (pix) has kicked up quite a storm within the party.

He drew heavy criticism from party colleagues, including secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

But one political commentator said such sentiments had already beset the party since the 1970s, and another pointed out that while DAP is among several multi-racial parties, it is essentially dominated by just one race.

Lim described Liu as a “dinosaur” and likened his words to “dog whistling” just to gain votes for the upcoming party elections. DAP is due to hold its national elections in June.

Last Sunday, Liu had said the party should not sacrifice or dilute its Chinese identity just to fend off political rivals. He was speaking at an event in Klang to launch a book by veteran DAP member Liew Ah Kim.

Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh said Liu’s comments were
“narrow-minded and toxic” while Damansara MP Tony Pua accused him of being chauvinistic.

However, Liu said the two MPs had misinterpreted what he said.

Lim stressed that the remarks by Liu, who is Sungai Pelek assemblyman, do not represent the sentiments of the party.

“Liu is using this extremist ideology to change the soul of the party.”

He pointed out that the party has always been multi-racial and therefore, its priority is not to accentuate ethnicity.

“By his statement, Liu is implying that he is ‘Chinese first and then Malaysian’. Such thinking must be rejected outright,” Lim added.

On Liu’s claim that his speech had been misinterpreted, Lim said it was Liu who had “misrepresented” what the party stood for.

“We have checked the translation of his speech shared on a news portal,” Lim said.

University of Tasmania professor of Asian Studies, James Chin, said since the 1970s, young professionals in DAP had already tried to position the party as being more inclusive while veteran members were “more oriented towards being Chinese first and Malaysian after”.

He said while Lim and his father Kit Siang, a party stalwart, believed in a multi-racial Malaysia, the sentiments of the older members of the party were different.

Nonetheless, he said Liu’s remarks had not done any damage given that no one responded to it until Yeoh posted her reaction on Facebook.

“Nobody is keeping an eye on it because it is considered normal in the DAP circle.

“It’s only when younger members complain that it strikes back and becomes news,” Chin said.

He added that the episode will, in fact, endear members such as Yeoh to a wider group of Malaysians.

“People will see it as an attempt to reform DAP from a Chinese-based party to a Malaysian one.”

Another political commentator, Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi of UCSI University, claimed that mistrust among the different races
is the “bedrock of politics in Malaysia”.

“It is for this reason that there are race and religion-based parties such as Umno, MCA and PAS,” he told theSun.

“There is nothing wrong with Liu’s statement.

“We are now ruled by PN (Perikatan Nasional), which is almost a total race-based government.”

He said when PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made a bid for power, he claimed he had Malay support.

“Pakatan Harapan failed because its Cabinet was not dominated by one race. Malaysia is sick because its educated class use the race narrative. Politicians just make do with this fundamental mistrust between races,” he added.

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