DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said that anger towards DAP among Malays, especially in rural areas, was prevalent only in constituencies not held by the party, as in Kelantan and Terengganu.
"It's a different story in areas where we have seats. Where we have representatives, the sentiments are different," the Penang chief minister told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony of Penang Island city councillors in George Town today.
"It is a question of whether we have access or can reach out to such areas," he added, when asked to respond to a survey by Darul Ehsan Institute (IDE) published in The Malaysian Insider today.
"Such areas do not depend on the internet but on mainstream newspapers like Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian for information. This is the success of black propaganda towards the party."
However, Lim said he believed in former American president Abraham Lincoln's famous quote "you can bluff some people some time, you can bluff some people all the time but you cannot bluff all the people all the time".
With such propaganda, Lim admitted if national polls were held now, the DAP may be in trouble.
"But we still have two years to explain the truth to the people," he declared.
Lim then cited an example where Penang Gerakan leaders claimed that the state government was planning to build a casino in Pantai Jerejak.
He said casino licences were issued by the Finance Ministry and has nothing to do with Penang.
"Such allegations are not only stupid but crazy - are they drunk?
"Doesn't Gerakan know this? But these are the lies spread by the party to run down the DAP and Penang government," Lim said.
Winning ways
He suggested his opponents refer to former information minister Zainuddin (Zam) Maidin's blog in which he said the DAP has "winning ways" to capture the hearts of the people.
"Zam spoke to the people on the ground and they have good things to say about what the Penang government has done, especially for taxi drivers and fishermen," Lim said.
According to the think-tank, such sentiments against the DAP have increased due to Umno’s ongoing negative campaign against the party.
This has happened despite the DAP's moves to recruit more Malay members and leaders.
The DEI claimed that "the animosity intensified after the break-up of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in June, when DAP parted ways with former ally PAS".
"With Umno and PAS starting to work together, the anti-DAP campaign is becoming more effective as both Malay parties use religion to attack it".
IDE deputy chairman Redzuan Othman was quoted in the portal as saying "the level of suspicion and acrimony towards DAP among Malays is high even in Selangor, where the party is part of the state government".
Redzuan was also quoted as saying that this sentiment was shared by many Malays throughout the country, especially among PAS members and supporters.
According to TMI, the survey was conducted by IDE between Nov 13 and 15 last year, involving 1,716 Malay respondents throughout Selangor.
The study revealed that 72 percent of respondents agreed that DAP was a racial party and that it was only looking after the interests of the Chinese community.
It further stated that only 12 percent disagreed, while 16 percent said they were "unsure".
IDE said more than 64 percent also agreed with the statement that "DAP was an anti-Malay and anti-Islam party", while some 18 percent disagreed and 19 percent were unsure.
The research organisation added that despite this, anti-DAP sentiments are lower in areas with DAP elected representatives even if they are Chinese, such as Serdang which is served by Ong Kian Ming and Subang, which is represented by Hannah Yeoh.
"The lower anti-DAP feelings in these areas showed that perceptions towards the party can be changed through information campaigns," Redzuan said.
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