PUTRAJAYA: All 14 delegates who spoke at the DAP national congress debate on Sunday (Aug 16) called on the party to remain in the federal government, but everyone demanded vigilant supervision of the reforms it had promised.
Voting on the motion began at 1.05pm, with results expected between 5pm and 6pm.
The debate followed DAP's setbacks in the recent Sabah, Johor and Negri Sembilan state elections, which delegates said the party had to answer with reform rather than retreat.
Kedah delegate Lim Hooi Yee said leaving would cost the party its only seat at the decision-making table.
"We stay and finish the mandate. We speed up reform, we review policies that oppress the people – especially small and medium enterprises. We do not leave. We improve, we work, and we press on with reform," she said.
Kuala Lumpur delegate Sangeet Kaur Deo, daughter of the late party stalwart Datuk Seri Karpal Singh, went further, urging the leadership to reassess its relationship with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"Instead of bringing the coalition partners together, what has he done? He has divided us, pitted one against another and empowered Umno," she said.
She stopped short of calling for an exit, saying DAP should use the term's final stretch to rebuild its voice.
"The bottom line is: We stay, but for a different reason."
Perak delegate Jason Ng Thien Yeong put it simply.
"Previously, we fought and kept fighting until we won. Now that we have won, do we want to run away? No," he said.
Penang delegate Daniel Gooi Zi Sen warned against a repeat of the instability of the 2020 Sheraton Move, noting stalled projects had since resumed.
Sarawak delegate Soo Tien Ren said quitting now would be "political suicide", but warned that staying without naming concrete reform targets would be just as fatal.
He urged Anwar to give up the Finance portfolio and restore the Budi95 fuel subsidy scheme to a 300-litre quota.
Selangor delegate Shakir Ameer told the congress it had to face its shrinking non-Malay voter base and shift its message towards policy and development over race.
Earlier, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said delegates would decide whether the party should remain in the unity government until the end of its term or return to the backbenches as a pressure group.
He also pledged DAP’s full support for the government’s proposal to abolish the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (AUKU), while urging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to pursue broader reforms.
“This is a difficult decision that the delegates need to make.
“A big decision like this should be made collectively by the delegates, and not by just 40 people in the CEC,” he said.
In his opening address, party national chairman Gobind Singh Deo said DAP had to take stock of its record after three-and-a-half years in government before deciding its path.
He said the coalition's remaining 18 months must be spent pushing institutional and economic reforms.
