Happy Valley DAP branch chairman Ganeson Ramasamy said prominent DAP leaders were silent for an extended period after Kok was criticised by Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh for her views, before eventually coming to the Seputeh MP’s defence.
Ganeson claimed that since former DAP chairman Karpal’s death in 2014, DAP leaders have seemingly been unwilling to take a bold stance on contentious issues.
“Everybody in the party should have fully defended Kok,” Ganeson told reporters on the sidelines of the Penang DAP convention here.
“Why can’t these DAP leaders tell off Akmal directly in a press statement? Why can’t they confront Akmal? There are 40 DAP MPs.
“There have been no tigers or lions since Karpal. Before this, Karpal used to bring up such issues.
“But now, all (DAP leaders) have become mice. She’s (Kok) the new Karpal Singh! She has guts!”
Karpal, a respected senior lawyer renowned for his outspoken views, was known as the “Tiger of Jelutong” after the constituency in Penang that he represented in the Dewan Rakyat from 1978-1999.
He was killed in a road accident in 2014.
The mandatory halal certification controversy started on Sept 5 when religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar said the Islamic development department (Jakim) was considering a proposal for halal certification to be made mandatory for eateries that do not serve pork and alcohol.
In response, Kok called for halal certification to remain voluntary, saying the government should allow business operators to decide on this based on market demand rather than forcing them.
Her remarks irked several parties including Akmal, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also distancing himself from Kok by saying that her views were personal and not representative of Pakatan Harapan.
DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook later came to her defence, stating that Kok was merely voicing the concerns of her constituents, including concerned non-Muslim restaurant operators.
On Wednesday, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Cabinet had agreed to maintain the long-standing policy – which has been in place since 1974 – that halal certification would only be on a voluntary basis.
Separately, Ganeson said he was upset that reporters were not allowed to cover the delegates’ speeches at the Penang DAP convention, calling it a regressive step for DAP as media access was unrestricted when the party was previously in the opposition.
Earlier, reporters were asked to leave the Setia Spice Convention Centre in Bayan Lepas at 2pm after the leaders’ speeches and the polling process.
“It looks like they are afraid of their own shadows. Delegates’ views are important and should be covered by reporters,” said Ganeson.
He also criticised Loke for calling people to support certain leaders in today’s polls. Loke had endorsed vice-chairman Steven Sim and state secretary Lim Hui Ying as the “best team” to lead the chapter as outgoing chairman Chow Kon Yeow is not contesting his post.
“Loke’s call to support ‘the best two’ (Sim and Lim) was wrong. As the secretary-general, he should be neutral and allow delegates to vote freely for the best 15 members,” he said.
“Loke should have said ‘choose the best 15 out of the 32 contestants’. That would have been fair.”
The delegates at the convention are voting for 15 members to make up the Penang DAP committee, which will then decide among themselves who should be appointed chairman.
FMT has reached out to Loke for comment.