Democratic Action Party (Malaysia)
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The Democratic Action Party (DAP, Parti Tindakan Demokratik in Malay) is Malaysia's largest secular and Socialist opposition party. Its core constituency is urban non-Muslim voters, with strongholds in areas such as Penang, Perak, and Sarawak.
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History
The DAP was a branch of Singapore's People's Action Party in Malaysia, but when Singapore seceded, the DAP became a party in its own right.
Formed in October 1965, Democratic Action Party (DAP) Malaysia was formally registered six months later on March 18, 1966 as a socialist democratic party “irrevocably committed to the ideal of a free, democratic and socialist Malaysia, based on the principles of racial equality, social and economic justice, and founded on the institution of parliamentary democracy”. (SETAPAK DECLARATION, made in the first DAP National Congress in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur on July 29, 1967).
In August 1966, the official communicating organ of the Party, the Rocket, made its inaugural appearance.
In October 1967, DAP joined 55 other social democratic, socialist and labour parties all over the world as a member of the Socialist International (SI) at the SI International Conference in Zurich, Switzerland.
DAP contested its first general election in 1969 and won 13 Parliamentary and 31 State Assembly seats, securing 11.9 per cent of the valid votes cast.
The DAP was a founding member of the Barisan Alternatif alliance, but bailed out in 2001 over irreconcilable policy differences with the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). PAS insisted on an Islamic state but DAP rejected this as a gross betrayal of the social contract upon which Malaysia was founded.
The DAP held 10 of 193 seats in Parliament following the 1999 election; it won a total of 12 parliamentary seats in the 2004 election, emerging again as the main opposition party in Malaysia following the spectacular defeat of PAS which saw its parliamentary seats drop from 27 to just 7. The 2004 elections saw the return of chairman Lim Kit Siang with a majority of more than 10,000 votes. He had previously lost his seat in the 1999 election after making an ill-fated alliance with PAS.
Chairman and Central Executive Committee
Lim Kit Siang was the second chairman of DAP (since 1999). Previously he was Secretary General since 1969. In 2004, he steps down in favour of Karpal Singh as the new Chairman. His son, Lim Guan Eng, steps into the position of Secretary-General. Lim Kit siang will move to an advisory role as the leader of a newly created body called the policy and strategic planning commission. Lim Kit Siang will remain parliamentary opposition leader.
The new deputy chairman is Dr Tan Seng Giaw (MP for Kepong). Four positions of vice-chairmen are MP M. Kulasegaran (MP for Ipoh Barat), Zulkifli MD Noor, Chow Kon Yeow and Richard Wong.
Positions in DAP are elected by a 19 member CEC (Central Executive Committee). In 2004, 402 (of 591 total national delegates) delegates were present to vote for members of the CEC. The top three were Tan Kok Wai (MP - Cheras) with 337 votes, Fong Po Kuan (MP - Batu Gajah) with 334 votes and Chow Kon Yeow with 333 votes. Fong Po Kuan gained prominence as the youngest MP of either gender to ever be elected to the Malaysian parliament. Additionally she was also the only MP to ever have been suspended without allowances by the speaker of parliament for "contempt".
Prominent members
There are 12 DAP MP elected in the Malaysian general election, 2004.
- Penang
- Chow Kon Yeow (Tanjong)
- Lim Hock Seng (Bagan)
- Chong Eng (Bukit Mertajam)
- Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor)
- Perak
- Fong Po Kuan (Batu Gajah)
- Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timor)
- M Kula Segaran (Ipoh Barat)
- Federal Territory
- Tan Seng Giaw (Kepong)
- Tan Kok Wai (Cheras)
- Fong Kui Lun (Bukit Bintang)
- Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Seputeh)
- Sarawak
- Chong Chieng Jen (Bandar Kuching)
Other prominent members include Lim Guan Eng, and Lee Lam Thye, who has since left the party .Lim Guan Eng was unable to contest a few elections due to legal matters.
Lee Lam Thye has since been active as a social activist, particularly in the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation, the Malaysian Red Crescent ,Royal commission on Police and the National Service Programme.He was previously an elected MP.
See also
External link
- DAP Malaysia home page (http://dapmalaysia.org/)minnan:Bîn-chú Hêng-tōng Tóng