KUALA LUMPUR: Bringing forward the party’s national conference to July is aimed at reviewing the pace of reforms within the government, says DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.
He said rescheduling it from September allows members to evaluate the party’s performance after the first half of the year.
“After six months, we need to review and evaluate whether we are effective and successful in pushing for the reforms that we hope for,” he said in an interview recently.
Last Thursday, Loke announced that the party would on July 12 decide whether its leaders should resign from all government posts while continuing to support the unity government in Parliament.
He was reported as saying that 4,000 central delegates are expected to vote on the proposal, marking the first time such a major political decision would be referred to the party’s highest decision-making body rather than being determined solely by its Central Executive Committee.
Loke dismissed suggestions that the conference was called due to internal unhappiness.
“It is not because members are discontent that we called for this. That is not the case.
“The July conference or convention will be a platform for our members to reflect, review and debate the way forward for DAP,” he said.
Loke linked the move to the party’s commitment following the Sabah state election results, describing it as a “wake-up call”.
“We accepted the verdict of the people in the Sabah polls. We take that as a wake-up call for us.
“We need to reflect, push faster and implement more. Whether or not this is effective has to be evaluated by the grassroots, and that is why July is the best time for them to evaluate,” he said.
He explained that while DAP holds a congress every three years for party elections, it typically organises a national convention once every 18 months.
“This year, we have decided to bring it forward to July partly to review our work,” he added.
In the late November Sabah polls, DAP lost all eight seats it contested.
In 2020, the party won six seats – Likas, Luyang, Kepayan, Sri Tanjong, Elopura and Tanjong Papat.
