Citing a Japanese haiku, Fueki-ryûkô, which talked about the principle of constancy and change, Penang DAP vice-chairman Zairil Khir Johari said that even though the party has changed, some things remain the same.
“So in DAP, while we are evolving, there are certain principles that remain and we are committed to that,” he told FMT.
He was addressing the complaints from DAP’s state leaders who resigned today. They said they have lost confidence in party leader Lim Guan Eng.
The four were Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him, Bachang assemblyman Lim Jak Wong, Kesidang assemblyman Chin Choon Seong and Duyong assemblyman Goh Leong San.
They also wrote a letter to the party’s secretary-general Lim Guan Eng that DAP had deviated from the party’s original goals.
Zairil however believed there were other reasons prompting them to resign.
“Weren’t these the same people who were suspended by our party’s disciplinary board?”
He was referring to Sim and Goh, who had been suspended by DAP since February last year for smearing the party name through a lawsuit against a fellow party member.
“It’s hardly a surprise they decided to quit. Also they had lost in internal party elections. Can draw own conclusions there. And change is part of evolution in politics. Those who don’t change, get left behind.”
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quick to pounce on the crisis faced by DAP, and said the actions of the four are a manifestation of internal problems and crisis of confidence being faced by the opposition party.
But Zairil denied Zahid’s claim too and he was supported by DAP deputy secretary-general P Ramasamy, who said the party is not the first or the only one to have lost some members.
And while the four who quit said they have no confidence in the party leadership, hundreds of thousands more are saying they do, Ramasamy added.
That’s why DAP is now one of the two largest and strongest political parties in Malaysia, the other being Umno, said Ramasamy.
“There are many people who have left Umno too. It’s just four members for us, but Umno has given birth to two large opposition parties, which are PKR and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
“Umno leaders actually left the party in big enough numbers to form new ones,” he said when contacted.
Ramasamy who is also the Penang deputy chief minister II, agreed with Zairil that DAP has changed. But the changes are for the better, and are much needed to keep up with the changing times, he said.
“That doesn’t mean we have gone astray from our original struggles. DAP is still one of the parties to be reckoned with. Their departure does not change this.”
The party’s national organising secretary Anthony Loke said when contacted that the party will issue a statement on the matter soon.