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PETALING JAYA: DAP Organizational Secretary Loke Siew Fook is the frontrunner to succeed Lim Guan Eng as general secretary in the upcoming Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections of the party, says a party leader.
Lim is in his third and final term as secretary general.
The CEC elections are likely to be held early next year due to Covid-19. The last election was held on November 12, 2017. The party’s constitution allows one person to serve as general secretary for only three terms of three years each.
A party leader who asked not to be identified told the FMT: “I think the party will elect Loke as the new general secretary, as he is seen as the leader closest to Lim and, to be fair, he has been the secretary of organization for a long time, which makes it the natural choice. “
As organizing secretary, Loke was the main “operator” of the party, approving membership, interacting with the branches, and staying in contact with grassroots leaders on a daily basis.
“People (DAP members and leaders) don’t really have a problem with Loke, we don’t have a situation like at PKR, it’s not one field against another, so I don’t expect any problems during the CEC elections,” he said. FMT source.
But the party source said any problems would come at the state level, particularly in Selangor and Johor, where some grassroots leaders feel there is no place for them as many leadership roles are filled by technocrats.
“At the CEC level there will be no problem, but at the grassroots level, you may see a ‘rebellion’ like the one against Tony Pua in Selangor. You may see something similar in Johor. “
In December 2018, Pua, the outgoing chairman of Selangor DAP, was not voted on in the party’s 15-member state committee. He received only 292 votes, which put him 19th.
James Chin of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania also said it was “highly likely” that Loke would be appointed secretary general even though he is not one of the three undersecretaries general.
The current undersecretaries general are Nga Kor Ming, Teresa Kok and V Sivakumar.
Chin said: “It is clear that Loke has support within the party. He is loved by all factions and is a capable person. “
If Loke were elected as the new general secretary, he would have to drive the growth of support for the party by the Malaysian and non-Muslim community of Bumiputera, as the support of the Chinese had reached its maximum limit.
He said that one of DAP’s failures, particularly during its time in federal power, was that the civil service and some sections of Malaysian territory viewed the party as too direct and aggressive.
“This often does not work well with Malaysian, Indian and non-Muslim Bumiputera communities.”
Chin said, however, that Lim and his father Kit Siang will continue to have substantial influence in DAP and do not need to hold positions to be influential.
“But although I don’t see any major change (in party leadership), I think a new general secretary will try to change the party’s name to make it more Malaysian. They will really want to attract young urban Malays and Chinese, as they would feel that this demographic will be more Malaysian in perspective. “
Awang Azman Pawi from Universiti Malaya believes that DAP should give Nga or Kok a chance to replace Lim, who has held the position for so long.
The new secretary general should address issues such as the overly aggressive pursuit of reforms without considering the sentiments of the rank and file outside the party.
“Sometimes they acted like the opposition while they were in government. The DAP should be seen as a moderate party that can be accepted by all members of society and avoid controversies.
“I believe that a new secretary general will bring changes in the direction and focus of the party.”
Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said Lim’s successor may not necessarily be any of the three undersecretaries-general. “I believe that many DAP leaders have the caliber and capacity to assume the position of secretary general.”
Among the new secretary general’s priorities, Lee said, would be to strengthen ties with the party’s allies, Pakatan Harapan.
