ليم ڬوان اڠ لتق جاوتن ستياءوسها اڬوڠ دڤ، ليم كيت سياڠ برسارا دري ڤوليتيك
Bagan Member of Parliament Lim Guan Eng has vacated his post as the secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) while his father and the party’s veteran leader Lim Kit Siang has retired from politics.
The announcements were made on Sunday (Mar 20) during the party’s 17th national congress in Shah Alam.
Seremban MP and the party’s national organising secretary Anthony Loke is tipped to replace Mr Lim Guan Eng as the secretary-general, the report said.
DAP’s leadership renewal comes in the wake of the party’s underwhelming performances in the Melaka, Sarawak and Johor state elections.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bagan Member of Parliament Lim Guan Eng has vacated his post as the secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) while his father and the party’s veteran leader Lim Kit Siang has retired from politics.
The announcements were made on Sunday (Mar 20) during the party’s 17th national congress in Shah Alam.
In his speech during the congress, the younger Mr Lim said that DAP was in a “transitional generation where a new secretary-general will be elected”.
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“This will be my final speech as secretary-general and I am grateful for all the support the party has given to me,” said Mr Lim Guan Eng.
“I am proud that through my tenure as secretary-general, DAP has transformed itself from aspiring to be the largest opposition party to aspiring to be the next government. We have shown that DAP is capable of governing Malaysia,” he added.
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Mr Lim Guan Eng has been at the helm of the party for 17 years. He cannot be re-elected to the post because he has served the maximum three terms.
Later on Sunday, party delegates are likely to vote for members who will be in DAP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC). The CEC members will then among themselves elect the party’s office bearers and new secretary-general to lead DAP into the 15th General Election.
According to a report by Malay Mail, Mr Lim Guan Eng is still expected to wield a strong influence in the party as he is likely to remain in the CEC.
Seremban MP and the party’s national organising secretary Anthony Loke is tipped to replace Mr Lim Guan Eng as the secretary-general, the report said.
DAP’s leadership renewal comes in the wake of the party’s underwhelming performances in the Melaka, Sarawak and Johor state elections.
In the recent Johor polls, Barisan Nasional (BN) romped to victory, winning 40 out of 56 seats in the state assembly. Pakatan Harapan (PH) only won 12 seats, with DAP retaining 10 out of 14 state seats it held.
In his speech, Mr Lim Guan Eng acknowledged that the party had weaknesses, and called for unity between the PH coalition partners ahead of national polls.
“PH needs to do a better job to communicate our message if we are to regain the people’s support. To succeed, we must not blame others for the loss of popular support but look at our own weaknesses as to why there is a lower voter turnout,” said Mr Lim Guan Eng.
“We need to face up to our record when we were in the PH government,” he added.
The 61-year-old also called for PH to use a common logo to demonstrate “unity of purpose” between coalition partners.
He explained that it was this cooperation that helped PH win the 2018 General Election, with DAP winning 42 parliamentary seats.
However, the PH government led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was ousted in February 2020 in a political manoeuvre dubbed the “Sheraton Move”.
The move saw PH lose control of the federal government and a few state governments.
“Whilst DAP is tempted to use the Rocket logo, DAP will stick to the coalition logo of PH to help us to win together,” said Mr Lim Guan Eng.
“No single party has won the general elections, only coalition parties have succeeded in winning power since Merdeka. We need to share victories with our allies through a common logo so that we can win more seats,” he added.
BATTLE FOR THE “MALAYSIAN DREAM” MUST GO ON: LIM KIT SIANG
In his speech at the congress, Iskandar Puteri MP and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang announced his retirement after 56 years in politics.
“I take this opportunity to announce my political retirement and I will not contest for any position, including the party CEC today – you should delete Number 39 from the CEC candidate list – or any parliamentary or state assembly seat,” said Mr Lim Kit Siang.
He added that he was proud to see DAP develop from a small opposition party when it first contested in the general election in 1969, into a major political party in the PH coalition that won the 14th General Election.
However, he called for the party members to continue with efforts to help the country realise its “Malaysian dream” and become a “world-class great nation”.
“The battle for the Malaysian dream must go on until it is achieved but this is in your hands,” he added.
At the end of his speech, Mr Lim Kit Siang was greeted with a standing ovation.
Mr Lim Guan Eng also paid tribute to his father’s contributions, outlining his “boundless faith” that people would choose right against wrong.
“Lim Kit Siang is seen by ordinary Malaysians as a statesman and a visionary willing to take the road less travelled by boldly making decisions not for the next elections but for the next generation,” said Mr Lim Guan Eng.
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