He said there was no reason for the Malays to be afraid of the party as it had always stood firm in maintaining the status of Islam and Bahasa Malaysia as per the Federal Constitution.
Loke added that the party’s struggle was only about ensuring there is a fair government that takes into account Malaysia’s multiracial setting.
“DAP is not the enemy of the Malays and Malays are not DAP’s enemy. DAP has Malay leaders and our constitution is not exclusive to any specific race,” Loke said in his speech at the DAP convention today.
He was responding to recent political rhetoric from Malay politicians that the party is anti-Malay or projects an image that is not Malay-friendly.
In the run-up to yesterday’s by-elections in Pulai and Simpang Jeram, Umno Supreme Council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed suggested to DAP that it drop its “Malaysian Malaysia” slogan in order to gain more support from the Malays.
Meanwhile, referring to Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s presence at the DAP convention today, Loke said Zahid was the first sitting Umno president to attend a major DAP meeting.
Without specifically mentioning Dr Mahathir Mohamed by name, he added that a former prime minister and Umno president had also attended the DAP convention in 2016 and was surprised that it was held in Bahasa Malaysia.
In 2016, the then Bersatu chairman made a surprise appearance at the DAP convention and praised the party for its commitment to the Federal Constitution.
“He (Mahathir) said he was surprised and that it had changed his perception of DAP. He said that he did not expect DAP leaders to be giving their speeches in Malay,” Loke said.
Later, at a gathering in Bagan Datuk, Zahid said he was taken aback by his reception at the convention.
“This is the first time in my entire life attending any DAP assembly, but the genuine and thunderous applause surprised me.
“Nine months ago, we were political adversaries, but in the unity government under the leadership of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the political landscape has changed, and we respect each other,” he said.
In moving forward, Loke reaffirmed the party’s commitment to strengthening the unity government and said DAP would not do anything to destabilise it.
The Seremban MP called for all leaders in the unity government to manage any conflict carefully because the only goal was to ensure the success of the government.
Loke said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) victory in the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections would be a morale booster for the unity government.
He singled out Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin and Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi for praise in organising the party’s support for the two PH candidates in yesterday’s polls.
He said the victories, especially in Simpang Jeram, were a “vote of confidence” for Onn’s leadership as well.