(R.Mutharasan)
Shah Alam: The DAP elections held on Sunday, March 16, to elect 30 Central Working Committee members saw Malay and Indian candidates emerging victorious, reaffirming DAP’s status as a multiracial party.
Among the Malay candidates, Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan secured the 20th spot, while Bentong MP Young Syefura Othman won the 21st position.
As for the Indian candidates, despite DAP having a majority Chinese membership, Sikh Indian leader Gobind Singh Deo secured the highest votes and was subsequently elected as the party’s national chairman by the central executive committee.
Gobind Singh’s brother, Ramkarpal Singh, was also elected as one of the 30 Central Executive Committee (CEC) members.
Although several Indian candidates contested, only two others, apart from Gobind and Ramkarpal, made it to the CEC—Negeri Sembilan State Exco member Arulkumar Jambunathan and Kasthuri Rani Patto.
Arulkumar Jambunathan –
A close ally of Anthony Loke
Arulkumar is considered a close ally of DAP Secretary-General Anthony Loke. Having won a seat in the CEC, he was appointed as one of the five vice presidents of the party.
However, Negeri Sembilan State Exco member Veerapan, who contested from the same state as Arulkumar, was unsuccessful in clinching one of the 30 CEC seats.
Kasthuri, the former MP for Batu Kawan in Penang, did not contest in the last general election, but decided to participate in the March 16 DAP elections and emerged victorious. Another reason for her victory could be that the DAP’s constitution stipulates that of the 30 CEC members to be elected at the national level, 9 must be women.
Of the 9 women who were elected 7 were Chinese. One was a Malay, and one was an Indian. Young Syefura Othman, the MP for Bentong was the Malay candidate and Kasturi was the Indian candidate.
As for Kasturi, her late father, P. Patto, was a prominent figure in DAP, and his influence may have played a role in her victory. In honour of the late P. Patto’s contributions, DAP Secretary-General Anthony Loke announced at the party’s national congress that a scholarship fund for underprivileged students would be established in his name.
Arulkumar secured the 24th spot with 1,747 votes, while Kasthuri Patto clinched the 25th position with 1,722 votes.
Ganapathy Rao and
some prominent figures defeated
Former minister V. Sivakumar, Klang MP Ganapathy Rao, and Jelutong MP RSN Rayer were among the candidates who lost in this election. The fact that Arulkumar, a state assemblyman and state exco member, won while some sitting DAP MPs were defeated came as a surprise.
It is widely believed that Anthony Loke’s influence, and support played a crucial role in Arulkumar’s victory.
The election results indicate a lack of emergence of a strong, influential new generation of young Indian leadership within DAP, which has left many Indians disappointed.
When DAP was in opposition in the 1970’s and 1980’s a set of strong Indian leaders emerged within the party, some of them were lawyers and some of them were unionists.
Karpal Singh, P.Patoo, and V.David were elected as MPs and they were also popular among the Indian community due to their strong commitment to the community’s causes and struggles, although they were not holding government positions.
In the DAP elections, Arul Kumar has emerged as the most popular Tamil-speaking leader. He has a heavy responsibility to carry on his shoulders to show that he has the capacity to lead the Tamil-speaking members of the party.
