SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan DAP committee has unanimously urged Anthony Loke Siew Fook to remain state chairman, after the party lost the Chennah and Repah seats in Saturday’s (Aug 1) state election.
Loke, who is DAP secretary-general, lost Chennah to Barisan Nasional’s Siow Kong Choon, polling 5,060 votes to Siow’s 5,593. He had said he was considering giving up the state chairmanship after the defeat.
In a statement, Negri Sembilan DAP secretary Cha Kee Chin said all 18 committee members had agreed to back Loke and wanted him to carry on leading the party.
He said Loke’s leadership was the best in the history of DAP in Negri Sembilan. The party had grown from two seats in 2004 into a force respected by friend and foe.
Cha said the losses in Chennah and Repah were disappointing, but were not Loke’s fault and should not be pinned on him.
“If Loke had not been the candidate, the opponent could have won by a huge majority,” he said.
He said the defeats were mainly due to Barisan and its allies playing on racial and religious sentiment.
Cha said that with Pakatan Harapan having lost its majority in the state assembly, DAP needed Loke’s leadership to face the challenges ahead, including the next general election.
He said an early analysis of the results showed that DAP and Pakatan candidates still held firm support among their core voters.
Cha said he had discussed the matter with all the committee members, who were unanimous in wanting Loke to stay.
He said the committee had asked Loke not to step down, but to keep leading the party and unite its members to face the general election and defend a multiracial Malaysia.
