A wake-up call for the DAP

 

News has just come in that DAP has been wiped out in the Sabah state election, failing to retain all of its seats. 

The setback is reminiscent of 2008, when MCA suffered heavy losses. This should serve as a wake-up call for a party that once proudly pitched itself as “by the people, for the people.” 

With two years left before the next federal election, DAP must urgently reconnect with ordinary Malaysians.

This is not about Anthony Loke’s recent backtracking on the ban against overloaded lorries—a policy most fair-minded Malaysians support, given the accidents these vehicles cause. Rather, it is about Loke’s aloofness on issues closer to home.

I just share from my personal experience as examples what others told me.

On several occasions, I have conveyed to him—through people close to him—that a retired couple in his Seremban constituency, who spent their lives running a drug rehabilitation centre, are struggling. Yet, unlike Dr Wan Azizah who once assigned her special officer to assist a social worker in her constituency, Loke has remained silent.

Equally troubling is the lack of attention to commuter concerns. Take the MRT stations in Sri Damansara: within just 2km, there are three stations—Sri Damansara Barat, Sri Damansara Sentral, and Sri Damansara Timur. Even residents find them confusing. 

Not his fault as the names were given to the triplets before his time, but naming them based on orientation would have been more intuitive. 

Worse still, “Sri Damansara Sentral” is not the interchange closest to the KTM line, despite its name suggesting otherwise. Commuters often struggle to explain to family members where to pick them up. 

Similar confusion arises at Kwasa MRT station, where line changes occur at Kwasa MRT—not Kwasa Sentral. Such missteps erode public confidence in service quality.

In Selangor, I have observed a decline in service standards under Loke’s leadership. Complaints to Gobind Singh Deo, Chairman of the DAP, yield little progress—promises are made, but nothing moves even after years. This lack of responsiveness is disheartening. We have many examples to show. 

DAP ministers and assemblypersons must improve communication with ordinary Malaysians. 

Many citizens suffer in silence, fearful of repercussions from the civil servants, if they speak out. For example, a complainant from Batu Caves Industrial Estate had a number of enforcement officers visiting his restaurant after he wrote letters to complain about flash floods.

When even voices like mine—raised directly to leaders—are ignored, what hope remains for the people?

While I can give credit to a number of DAP MPs and state assemblymen, whom I am in touch with, DAP’s defeat in Sabah should be a wake-up call not only for its current leadership but also for veterans like Lim Kit Siang. 

Even with the presence of several big wigs including Lim himself, DAP failed to win even one of the eight seats contested. 

When I once briefed him for over an hour about the state of Selangor, his only reply was, “I am no longer in active politics.” To me, that initiative I took was a sheer waste of my time. 

Yet, Lim must realise that people can, and will, reject DAP if it continues to build a wall where people can only sense aloofness. 

Well, if they fail to address the people's everyday concerns, can DAP expect people to continue supporting the party? It is no wonder that after the Sabah defeat, people have taken the opportunity to speak up. 

Although the Sabah defeat is rooted in the state’s unique political dynamics—where voters are intent on consolidating support behind either Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) or the Warisan-led coalition backed by Mahathir—many in West Malaysia have seized the moment to pressure the DAP, PKR and a weak Amanah, hoping to salvage PH’s overall standing.

Warisan’s loss underscores a deeper reality: Sabahans are unwilling to embrace a party seen as Mahathir’s proxy, particularly given the lingering resentment over Project IC.

Looking ahead to the next general election, the contest will sharpen into a clear choice: between those who cling to ultra-Malay racism and entrenched corruption during Mahathir’s era, and those who seek a government genuinely committed to reform.

Despite the slow pace of reform efforts, public trust in Mahathir remains fractured. His role in engineering the collapse of the PH government and in project IC in Sabah left a lasting sense of betrayal, making it difficult for many to place confidence in him again. 

After all, Mahathir’s family has a big stake in the collapse of the madani government and the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission that is currently pursuing billions of his family-owned assets. He has a powerful paid machinery peddling lies in an effort to topple Anwar.

While this is what the country wishes to see, Lim should not forget that in one particular federal election, even the DAP was also totally wiped out, with him and a couple of others remaining in parliament. He and the current and future PH leadership must recognise that no political party is indispensable.

Do we want a repeat of such a wipe out in the coming general election? I hope not. This is better said now than to cry over spilt milk especially when its leaders can see how Barisan Nasional has been rejected overwhelmingly in the past few general elections.