All eight DAP Malay leaders lose badly in CEC polls

(Bernama) - All eight Malay DAP leaders who contested for central executive committee (CEC) posts lost badly at 16th DAP Congress here.

The results show that the party, dominated by the Chinese, does not make room for Malay candidates including Zairil Khir Johari (picture) who served as political secretary to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Zairil only received 305 votes while his boss, Lim garnered 1,576 votes.

A total of 1,823 delegates voted to choose 20 DAP leaders for the 2012-2015 term.

The other Malay candidates who lost were Penang DAP committee member Zulkifli Mohd Noor (216 votes), Senator Ariffin SM Omar (748), Johor DAP vice-chairman Ahmad Ton (347 votes), Pahang DAP deputy chairman Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji (121), Desa Manjung DAP branch chairman Solaiman Op Syed Ibrahim (98), Roseli Abdul Ghani (39) and Harun Ahmad (28).

Zulkifli Mohd Noor, one of the DAP Malay candidates said he fought for 25 years for the Malays to be elected as CEC members but failed.

"When we say 'Malaysian Malaysia,' we must represent all religions, all races...balance. The message I conveyed did not reached the grassroots. They are still choosing leaders based on race," he told Bernama.

He said that the election was also not based on ability and experience of the candidates in fighting for the party.

"There is no change. The results is a setback for Malay candidates. Perhaps the top leaders who contested want to take care of their own interests, not the party's interests."