Can DAP tame ‘wild horse’ Zaid?

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s entry into DAP did not break the Internet but he is there to help DAP break into the PAS and Umno influence in the Malay heartland.

DATUK Zaid Ibrahim was his usual erudite self when announcing that he had joined DAP.

He is such a fluent wordsmith with a talent for saying tough things in an eloquent way, which is a good thing given the awkwardness of his situation.

This is, after all, his fourth political party – from Umno to PKR, then Kita and now DAP.

His reputation precedes him and although he chose to sidestep his colourful political record, some of those who joined him at the press conference did not let it pass without mention.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad seated on his right had quipped: “I hope you stay in DAP a little longer.”

The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman then went on to talk about eradicating the “race of frogs” and how difficult it is to catch a frog because “they like to hop here, hop there”.

Well, DAP has managed to catch this one and despite his history, he is a big catch.

He is a former Cabinet Minister, he used to run the biggest law firm in South-East Asia and anyone who has read his blog would know he is a thinker.

“He is proof that our party is not anti-Malay,” said one DAP politician.

Yet, there are apparently mixed feelings in DAP about him. Party leaders are unsure how he will fit in because DAP, despite its democratic title, is a rather hierarchical party while Zaid is someone whom they think “listens to no one”.

Zaid has sometimes been likened to a spirited wild horse that is spectacular to look at but is problematic because it refuses to run and graze with the herd.

He was hailed as a hero in 2008 when he resigned from the Cabinet in protest of the ISA arrests of several individuals.

But his acrimonious parting with PKR damaged him, and there were notably no PKR leaders at his press conference that was attended by several big names from Parti Pribumi and Amanah.

His brief stops in PKR and Kita, of which he was the president, left an impression that he lacked commitment.

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang alluded to it when he noted that there had been allegations that Zaid is a “prima donna” but said he was confident the party’s newest big-name could learn to be a team player.

But for now, Zaid brings something that DAP needs ahead of the general election and that is to dilute accusations that it is anti-Islam and anti-Malay.

Moreover, Malays like Zaid are increasingly hard to come by these days. He is the kind of liberal Malay that many non-Malays wish other Malays could be like. Unfortunately, many Malays cannot identify with him.

His admirers like his free-spirited, original and non-conformist style but others find him to be a loose cannon who is difficult to rein in.

Many had thought that he would join Parti Pribumi but he is said to be critical of the party’s insistence on working with PAS.

There was no hiding his disdain for PAS, and he rubbished the Islamist party as only good at peddling “outdated ideas” and “selling religion”.

He said he decided to join DAP because he wanted to stem the “Talibanisation tide” sweeping over the Malays and which has changed them beyond recognition.

He said Malays should be less preoccupied with what is haram and halal and become more in tune with the real world.

He praised the DAP-led Penang government while running down the PAS government in Kelantan which he said could not even “do simple things like clear blocked drains, stop flash floods or collect rubbish regularly”.

Zaid is set to become the new mouthpiece to denigrate PAS.

“He is my good friend but somehow I don’t see it as a game-changer. I cannot see him making inroads into the Malay heartland and changing the political and ethnic equation,” said Gerakan politician Ivanpal S. Grewal.

But Zaid is said to be preparing to make his debut in Johor politics. It is an open secret that he is slated to contest the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat while incumbent Lim returns to contest in Penang.

Gelang Patah would be like a housewarming present for Zaid. It is a Chinese-majority seat and Lim had won it with a majority of almost 15,000 votes against former mentri besar Tan Sri Ghani Othman.

In the meantime, Zaid will have to prove his worth by taking on PAS. It will not be a crude case of “Malay screw Malay” – Zaid is too sophisticated and refined for that kind of attack.

But he will be a powerful DAP weapon against PAS and Umno.