SAPP Youth to DAP: Don't act like colonial lords!

When will DAP stop trying to destroy the confidence building process among the opposition parties? As a local party with an interest to see Pakatan Rakyat (PR) capturing Putrajaya in next general elections, SAPP is most disappointed that DAP leaders like Tan Kok Wai just fly in and make demands that offends the people.

Tan Kok Wai had, when launching the newly bought DAP building in Penampang, said that a DAP-led Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will sweep all the seats in Sabah, without any room for local parties. This is typical of KL leaders who behave like colonial lords who can come and blurt out anything at their whims and fancies. After they have gone back to KL, the people who have to pick up the pieces are us Sabahans.

Even local parrots like Dr. Edwin Bosi has begun to imitate DAP talks about its greatness in Malaya, that DAP has so many legislators and state governments. This boasts of strength at national level to intimidate Sabahans are strikingly similar to the boasts of MCA when it used to be strong in Malaya.

But, as young Sabahans, we call on DAP not to be over confident in your limited strength. Do not forget that DAP has been stuck in the opposition doldrums for five decades. Your recent success in Malaya is mainly due to the charisma of Anwar Ibrahim and PKR as a bridge between PAS and DAP. At the last general elections, BARISAN NASIONAL (BN) was greatly weakened by an insurgency led by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, the internal problems within UMNO, MCA and Gerakan, the emergence of Hindraf and a sleeping Prime Minister. The “broom incident” at Selangor when the MB (Khir Toyo) presented brooms to civil servants also drove many traditional BN votes to the opposition.

Most important of all, it was Anwar’s role in securing a one-to-one fight against the BN. The opposition success had nothing to do with Pakatan Rakyat because there was no Pakatan Rakyat at the time, before and during the last general elections. PR was formed only in April 2008, after the general elections.

We remind DAP that the ceaseless quarrels between DAP and its Pakatan components are driving away fence sitters. DAP and its Pakatan partners fights over mundane things like whether to wear the official songkok with the Sarawak crest, Chua Jui Meng and now Valentine’s Day. There is non-stop, unnecessary bickering over things like ban on sale of alcohol in shops, changing the Malaysian flag, Israel, sacking 30% of the civil servants, segregation of genders in supermarket queues, and racism in calling other races “black metal”.

DAP’s so-called “double dragons” and self-proclaimed “superman” has also offended the people by vulgarities (bad words) in public speeches and in calling reporters “prostitutes”.

DAP’s internal conflicts are still on public display with the Ramasamy-Karpal duel, the Perak Nga Kor Meng award of contract to his wife’s tailor company and the heavy load of disciplinary cases in Selangor.

Sabahans are also worried about the hasty way that the Penang State government handed over its profitable water supply to the Federal Government, asking will DAP sell out Sabah’s water supply and resources to KL?

In any elections, fence sitters are the most important group that determines the outcome. For instance, in Sabah, if all or most of the voters who voted BN in the last general elections continue to vote BN, then there is no chance for the opposition in Sabah.

And without Sabah and Sarawak, there is no chance for Pakatan to capture Putrajaya. This is the reality in Malaysian politics today. So, SAPP Youth call on DAP not to be over confident simply because you have become the biggest opposition party in Sarawak.

Just because you have won 12 out of the 15 seats contested by DAP, does not make you an incoming government. DAP has reached its maximum strength in Sarawak.

There are still 56 BN seats in Sarawak. DAP by itself in Sabah, can only win a maximum of 4 to 6 seats, all of which are urban Chinese dominated seats.

This is nothing to be proud of as DAP will be repeating its mistake in Sarawak, whereby the DAP failed in its promise to topple the BN government led by Taib Mahmud.

By Edward Dagul is SAPP Youth Chief