Shamsher: No regrets leaving DAP

GEORGE TOWN: Former DAP life member Shamsher Singh Thind (pic) is not sad to leave the party, which he has criticised for working with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In his latest post on Facebook, Shamsher also called on DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and secretary-general Lim Guan Eng to step down should the number of its Parliamentary seats drop by even one in the next general election.

This would mean, said the law lecturer, that the whole plan of working with Dr Mahathir had backfired.

Shamsher, who was from the Chai Leng Park DAP branch, said the party should have consulted its grassroots to see if they agreed to co-operate with Dr Mahathir.

“I am not sad to leave. I am looking forward to set up an NGO with people who share the same philosophy as me.

“The NGO’s objective is to educate the people not to cast their votes based on the party but on the candidate’s capabilities,” he said here yesterday.

In his post, Shamsher defended his decision to resign and, among others, questioned the common framework for the Opposition coalition, PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and their choice for prime minister.

“They gave us BA (Barisan Alternatif). Failed! Then they gave PR (Pakatan Rakyat). Failed! Next they gave us Pakatan Harapan. Failed in Sarawak!

“And now they are giving us PH (Pakatan Harapan) + PAS + Bersatu (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia). You don’t become (American inventor) Thomas Alva Edison by just repeating your mistakes. When are you going to learn and improve?” he wrote on Monday.

Edison, who invented the light bulb, famously experimented with various materials thousands of times before hitting on the successful combination.

According to the DAP website, the party has 37 seats in Parliament.

In another post, Shamser said DAP deputy secretary-general Dr P. Ramasamy, who was his mentor, gave him full freedom when speaking at the party’s conventions.

“However, that does not mean that he approved my speeches or agreed with everything I said. For him, I am an adult and I know the consequences of my action,” he wrote.

Dr Ramasamy reportedly told an online news portal that those who felt that DAP had compromised its principles by working with Dr Mahathir could leave.

It also quoted Dr Ramasamy as saying that members were free to object and one member’s discontent was not reflective of the party’s mood.

Shamsher had also caused a stir during the party’s Penang convention last month when he questioned the DAP leadership for working with Dr Mahathir and ex-deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.