The great and historic breakthrough of the DAP in the Sarawak state general elections on Sept. 9, where the DAP won for the first time in 18 years in the Sarawak state general elections, winning not one but three state assembly seats, gave a great fillip to the morale and spirits of the DAP.
However, this proved short-lived, as the defection of two DAP State Assemblymen in Negri Sembilan as well as in the rash of party indiscipline, particularly in the form of distorted, biased and even baseless self-serving newspaper write-ups, have plunged party morale and spirits to a new low.
These are clear signs that the Party has still to recover from the debacle and aftermath of the April 1995 general election results.
This is reminiscent of one of the worst periods of the DAP history, the three years between 1971 to 1974, when the Party was rocked by a prolonged leadership crisis, including the defection of four DAP MPs and 11 DAP State Assemblymen, to the extent that many prophets of doom - including the then Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister - were publicly forecasting the end of the DAP.
The DAP had been able to prove these prophets of doom wrong through the strength of conviction, steadfastness and stamina of the party leadership and membership, standing firm on our political beliefs and objectives, and eventually turning the country from the course of extremism which refused to accept the multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious nature of the Malaysian society to one where these plural characteristics of the Malaysian nation had been conceded, in the form of the “minor liberalisation” in government nation-building policies in language, education and culture.
Can the DAP again prove the new prophets of doom wrong and emerge from the debacle of the 1995 general elections with renewed purpose, energy and commitment?
This will depend to a large extent on the outcome of the party reform programme, which has still a time-span of about two years - as to whether the party reform programme can be salvaged and given a new life, bearing fully in mind our conviction that DAP must “reform or die” to face the new political challenges of the 21st century.
The Party chalked up two political achievements in the past 20 months since the April 1995 general elections, when the DAP suffered our worst electoral defeat in party history. This is the great and stunning Bagan by-election victory in September 1995 when in less than five months, the DAP regained the Parliamentary seat following the untimely passing of Sdr. P. Patto with a majority which was 100 times bigger than during the general elections. The next was the great and historic breakthrough of the DAP in Sarawak, winning in the State general elections for the first time in five state general elections bids in 18 years - securing not just one, but three State Assembly seats
It can be said that these great historic DAP breakthroughs in the past 20 months had been achieved not because of but despite the failure to make much headway in the party reform and renewal programme.
Time is running out for the party reform, renewal and rejuvenation programme launched at the previous party congress, which means time is running out for the DAP.
The top priority concern of all delegates to the National Conference in Malacca is to focus on how we can salvage the party reform, renewal and rejuvenation programme in the next two years if we are not to become the political dinosaurs in the new Millenium.
The success or failure of the party reform, renewal and rejuvenation programme will also decide whether the DAP will be able to face the new challenges of the 21st century.
From the sixties to the eighties, the DAP fought a long and uphill battle with many leaders paying great personal sacrifices just to secure recognition that Malaysia is not a “one language, one culture, one religion” country, but a nation of many languages, cultures and religions.
In those years, Malaysia’s multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious characteristics were regarded as weaknesses and liabilities to the nation-building process, but today, they are beginning to be appreciated as great assets of Malaysia.
But such appreciation is still too limited and grudging, and there is only “Minor Liberalisation” and not “Full Liberalisation” of nation-building policies, and this is why the proposed establishment of the New Era College continues to face one obstacle after another.
DAP must be intensely proud of our historic achievements, but we should not be chained to our past.
While holding steadfast to the core values and principles of the DAP for unity, solidarity, justice, equality, freedom and ever-improving quality of life for all, the DAP must continue to change, to modernise and to reinvent ourselves to deal with new ideas and new challenges of fast-changing times which involve new aspirations and expectations of the people.
Information Technology is one good example. Just a few years ago, apart from scientists, engineers and researchers in the universities, nobody has heard of Internet. Today, it is reported virtually everyday in the mass media and one international news magazine has even dubbed the coming century as the “Microsoft Century”.
Since the last general elections in April 1995, the DAP has been responding to the challenges of the Information Technogy, helping the country to develop a National Information Technology Policy as well as establishing our presence on the Internet.
But how many national, state and branch leaders have so far responded to the IT revolution?
I want to end with a personal statement of belief. I believe that the DAP can continue to be as relevant and important to the hopes, aspirations and dreams of Malaysians in the next 30 years as in the last 30 years, and the DAP’s two political breakthroughs after the 1995 general elections debacle - the results of the Bagan by-election and the Sarawak state general elections - are testimony that the people at large still rest their hopes and trust in the DAP.
The problem is the DAP ourselves - whether we can understand the changes and challenges of the times, and without abandoning our basic principles and convictions, modernise ourselves and offer to the Malaysian people a better and more fulfilling life in the new Millenium.
(8/12/96)