Showing posts with label DAP. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Winds of change in Penang DAP

Steven Sim Chee Keong 沈志强

Sim succeeds Chow as state party chairman after polls at ordinary convention

GEORGE TOWN: A wind heralding change has blown through the halls of power in Penang.

The collective force of the 1,500-odd delegates of Penang DAP who cast their votes yesterday indicated a shift away from the powerful “Lim family” in the party.

Not all candidates known to be aligned with party chairman Lim Guan Eng scored enough votes to win a coveted seat in the state party committee – a sign that there are complex workings in the party that outsiders cannot measure.

Human Resources Minister Steven Sim became the new Penang DAP chairman from now until 2027 after scoring the second highest number of votes from state party delegates (1,237 votes).

Sim was asked to comment on the fact that assuming the post meant he could be the chief minister designate.

The Bukit Mertajam MP picked the middle ground: “We focus on the working on the ground first, make sure we win the next election and establish the government together.

“All that can be discussed later; we focus on working on the ground. Thank you,” he told the media in a minute-long press conference.

Penang DAP had its ordinary convention yesterday, requiring 1,500-odd delegates to vote in 15 out of 31 nominees to be in the state liaison committee.

After their votes were tallied and the 15 members were determined, the 15 then enter closed doors to thrash out who would be the chairman, deputy, secretary, treasurer and other office-bearers.

When the doors were opened, reporters got the news they had expected: Sim would take over from Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow as the new chairman.

Sim’s deputy is now Ramkarpal Singh, a son of the late party stalwart Datuk Seri Karpal Singh, who actually gained the most number of votes from Penang DAP delegates (1,247 votes).

Guan Eng’s sister Hui Ying, who is Deputy Finance Minister and Tanjong MP, retained her post as Penang DAP secretary. But she only garnered 827 votes.

Komtar assemblyman Teh Lai Heng, who used to be Chow’s political secretary, climbed up and became state party treasurer.The combination of Sim and Hui Ying as the chairman and secretary had earlier received open endorsement from DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.

Among biggest casualties were Deputy Chief Minister II Jagdeep Singh Deo and state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai.

Other state assemblymen who did not make the cut were Heng Lee Lee (Berapit), Joseph Ng (Air Itam), K. Kumaran (Bagan Dalam) and Ong Ah Teong (Batu Lanchang).

These were among personalities believed to be attentive to Guan Eng’s opinions.

Guan Eng, who was Penang chief minister from 2008 to 2018, had never been the Penang DAP chairman. But a convention exists in that the “chief minister designate” is usually the chairman of the leading party in a given state.

State exco member Zairil Khir Johari (fourth, 1,166 votes) and Datuk Yeoh Soon Hin (third, 1,225), a former state exco member, were appointed as the state party vice-chairmen.

State party assistant secretary post went to H’ng Mooi Lye, the Penang local government executive councillor.

The assistant treasurer post will be held by Lay Hock Peng.

The organising secretary is now Phee Boon Chee, the younger brother of Penang DAP veteran Datuk Seri Phee Boon Poh, while the assistant organising secretary post will be held by both Lee Wei Seang and Lim Siew Khim.

The state DAP publicity secretary is now Joshua Woo and the assistant publicity secretary is Datuk Soon Lip Chee.

The director of political education is Daniel Gooi, who is the Penang state exco member for youth, sports and health.

The six committee members are Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo, RSN Rayer, Phee Syn Tze, Ooi Yong Woi, Teh Chuann Yien and Foo Yu Keong

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Penang DAP delegates send signal to Lim family

Sunday, December 4, 2022

Political factor was crucial, kindness and graciousness of DAP

PETALING JAYA: A wide range of views has emerged on the Cabinet line-up but most analysts agree on one thing – it reflects the current political set-up and the need to appease all the parties involved.

“I think it does reflect the strength and number of seats that each party has,” said senior fellow from Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, Dr Azmi Hassan.

He described the appointments as “fair”, adding that they were made in tandem with the ratio of parliamentary seats held by each party.

The main factor in determining the line-up of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet was the need to please the political parties involved, he added.

This, he said, was to ensure that Anwar would have the support of the parties in the unity government.

“The political factor was crucial in determining the Cabinet appointments,” he added.

Azmi said the ministerial appointments might not please everyone.

DAP, he noted, has been relatively quiet since the Cabinet list was unveiled.

“I would understand why – they (Pakatan Harapan) needed to appease Barisan Nasional and thwart the advance of PAS,” he said.

The 28-member Cabinet includes 15 Pakatan ministers comprising four from DAP, eight from PKR, two from Amanah and one from Upko.

There are six Barisan Nasional ministers, five from Gabungan Parti Sarawak, one from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and one without a political party – Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, a Syariah court chief judge who was appointed Religious Affairs Minister.

Presently, Anwar has the support of Pakatan’s 82 MPs, Barisan (30 MPs), GPS (23), GRS (six), Warisan (three), Muda (one), KDM (one), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (one) and two independent MPs.

International Islamic University Malaysia’s Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said the Cabinet line-up was a result of negotiations between the Prime Minister and the component coalitions of the unity government.

“It reflects the proportionality of the components and party hierarchies,” he said.

He added that parties such as Muda and Warisan were not given ministerial positions, “but I think they would not protest about it”.

However, Tunku Mohar noted that Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s appointment as Deputy Prime Minister had compromised Pakatan’s pledge for good governance.

Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges involving criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering.

Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Azmil Mohd Tayeb said the Cabinet was one which Anwar could cobble up based on the current political arrangement.

“It’s much slimmer and appeases almost everyone,” he said.

However, he was of the view that Anwar should not have assumed the Finance Minister’s post.

The last prime minister to hold both portfolios was Datuk Seri Najib Razak from 2008 to 2018.

Back then, this had come under criticism with Pakatan pledging in its 2018 general election manifesto that the prime minister would not hold the finance portfolio.Azmil also had reservations about the appointment of Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (International Trade and Industry Minister).

“I don’t think it is a good idea, while excluding someone like Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad,” he said.

Dr Dzulkefly, the health minister in the Pakatan-led administration from 2018 to 2020, had defeated Tengku Zafrul in the battle for the Kuala Selangor seat.

Political analyst Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said the Cabinet appointments could appease those supporting the unity government “for a while, perhaps”.

He said the political parties would be “temporarily satisfied” with their allocated representation in the Cabinet.

“But politics nowadays is so fluid that anything could change rapidly,” he added.

Oh, however, conceded that the ministerial appointments reflected the proportion of the various parties in the administration.

“It is, in essence, a coalition government,” he added.

By TARRENCE TAN and RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM

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