: Super User; Malaysia; 08 December 2011; Hits: 1565

The DAP has an Image Problem Also

Earlier this month, when delegates at the annual general assembly of Prime MInister Najib Razak's UMNO party repeatedly lashed out at the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) for being anti-Islam and anti-Malay, DAP leaders cast themselves in the role of victims.

The DAP, argued veteran party leader Lim Kit Siang, had once again become the "whipping boy".

Like the ruling national front government, the Chinese-based DAP is stuck with popular perceptions that it finds almost impossible to shake.. While UMNO has had little success in shedding its image as an arrogant party ridden with corruption, the DAP struggles to shake off the idea that it is only interested in representing the interests of the Chinese.

This perception continues despite the promotion of prominent Malays to senior party positions. Examples include Mr Zairil, the son of former Umno Cabinet minister Khir Johari, and activist Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim. The latter was named party vice-president in 2008. The DAP also has several branches led by ethnic Malays.

None of this, however, appears to have had much impression on the Malay community, which tends to see these Malays as mere puppets. The fact that the DAP is part of the Pakatan Rakyat also fails to impress. This opposition coalition includes PAS, a Malay-Muslim-based party more conservative in religious matters than Mr Najib's UMNO.

Instead of winning kudos for its willingness to associate with a Muslim fundamentalist party, the DAP is portrayed instead as cynically engaging in the politics of convenience, manipulating PAS for its own purposes. The internal composition of the opposition alliance is also often cited by government spokesmen as proof that any future Pakatan Rakyat government would be inherently unstable.

The DAP certainly has a lot more work to do if it wants its attempts to garner Malay support to be taken seriously. Independent observers argue that while DAP's predominantly Chinese cadres may not be anti-Malay, they display very little empathy when it comes to handling Malay sensitivities.

In a recent article in the Singapore Straits Times newspaper, journalist Carolyn Hong quotes political commentator Khoo Kay Peng as suggesting that the DAP would do better for itself if it did more to showcase the evenhanded way it has ruled Penang after wresting it from the ill-fated Gerakan party in the 2008 elections.

The DAP certainly has something to crow about in this department. Like the ruling National Front, however, it has failed to communicate its successes in a way that voters can readily appreciate. Mr Zairil notes, for example, that while the DAP has been accused of victimising Malay hawkers who set up stalls illegally, most of those who faced action were actually Chinese.

UMNO has a similar problem when it comes to wooing Chinese opposition voters. At the UMNO General Assembly, Mr Najib was anxious to convince everyone that UMNO was not racist, even though it was founded as a race-based party. In a speech that was carried on the front pages of almost all of the country's Chinese language dailies, the prime minister insisted that UMNO strived not only for the interests of the Malays, but for all the nation's communities.

But it was the prime minister's repeated declarations at the Assembly that he was determined to defend Malay interests that many nonMalays are likely to remember. Large numbers of Malays, on the other hand, can be expected to take Mr Najib's warnings about the DAP's political agenda seriously.

Many observers regard Mr Najib's attempt to rebrand and reshape UMNO as his greatest challenge. Gaining support from a substantial portion of the Chinese community (without alienating UMNO's Malay base) will be crucial for the success of the ruling National Front coalition in the next elections. These elections are widely expected in the first quarter of next year.

The DAP also needs to get its act together. Sadly, more than 40 years after the tragic race riots of May 1969, Malaysia is more divided than ever before.

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Key Political Risks

Now that the general assembly of UMNO, the senior partner in the ruling National Front coalition government, is over, the long-awaited general election could be held at any time. Constitutionally, Prime Minister Najib Razak has to call elections before April 21st 2012, after which the Elections Commission must hold the election within 60 days.

Widely expected to be the most hotly contested in Malaysian history, the polls will pit Mr Najib's government against a rival political coalition led by charismatic opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

While the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance attacks what is says are the corrupt and authoritarian ways of the government, Mr Najib has been describing the opposition coalition as an unnatural alliance of Islamic fundamentalists and multi-ethnic and liberal parties.

The strong economy is likely to favour the government.

WATCH OUT FOR:

The size of the expected government victory, particularly the ability of the ruling party to retake control of key states such as Selangor. Mr Najib needs to win convincingly if he is to implement long-delayed economic reforms. These include reducing oil and food subsidies and introducing a goods and services tax to boost government revenue.
The ability of Mr Najib to placate conservative elements of his Muslim-based UMNO party who disapprove of his policy of boosting national unity through greater inter-faith and ethnic tolerance.
The extent to which the government is able to convince the public that the coming elections will be free and fair. If the election result is close, influential organisation such as Bersih could declare them illegitimate, and stage major protests.