Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, an analyst with Bower Group Asia, a political risk consulting firm, does not think so.

“We don’t have the ‘lompat’ party circus we see among PKR, Bersatu and Umno.

“DAP has always been a well-organised and tightly controlled party,” said Asrul.

The four DAP leaders who resigned were Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him, Bachang assemblyman Lim Jak Wong, Kesidang assemblyman Chin Choon Seong and Duyong assemblyman Goh Leong San.

They claimed they were resigning as the party leadership had deviated from its original objectives.

Head of the National Council of Professors’ Governance, Law and Public Management Cluster, Prof Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod, said Lim Guan Eng, Lim Kit Siang and other party leaders should not take the matter lightly.

He said any small crisis could lead to bigger one, at a time when the opposition is gearing up for the 14th general election.

He said the amount of damage to the party caused by these resignations also depended on how much support from the grassroots these leaders commanded.

“Otherwise it will be just a storm in a teacup.

“It’s the manner it is handled which is most important to stop the decay,” said Nik Ahmad.

In echoing this sentiment, Universiti Utara Malaysia political lecturer and researcher Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said the members who left had the right to quit if they felt the party was no longer relevant to them.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) associate professor Jeniri Amir said it all boiled down to how the party leaders addressed the issue to gain supporters’ confidence.

“They have to explain everything. The ex-members’ wrongdoings, if any, and whatever caused the crisis.”

He said DAP will not have a problem with the seats in Malacca as they can find better candidates.

After all, the voters in those four areas voted for the party and not the individuals.

“The problem only comes if they fail to address the issue,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said the resignations were a manifestation of internal problems and crisis of confidence being faced by the opposition party.

MCA president Liow Tiong Lai said the resignations indicated a split in the leadership.

However, the resignations of the three assemblymen has no impact on the Malacca state assembly, which is dominated by BN.

DAP previously had six state seats and one parliamentary seat, out of the 28 state seats and six parliamentary seats in Malacca.

Now, DAP is left with only three state seats and no representative at the parliament level.