MP SPEAKS The Darul Ehsan Institute (IDE) study that Umno-PAS attacks and demonisation campaigns have been successful in fuelling anti-DAP sentiments among Malays, especially in rural areas, must be a wake-up call to all DAP leaders and members to take these misperceptions seriously.

The study found that after the break-up of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in June, the campaign to demonise the DAP as anti-Malay has become more effective, with Umno and PAS working together in the anti-DAP campaign.

In the survey by IDE conducted between Nov 13 and 15 last year, involving 1,716 Malay respondents throughout Selangor, almost two-thirds of respondents (72 percent) agreed that DAP was a racial party and that it was only looking after the interest of the Chinese community.

Only 12 percent disagreed, while 16 percent said they were “unsure”.

More than half (64 percent) also agreed with the statement that "DAP is an anti-Malay and anti-Islam party". Some 18 percent disagreed while 19 percent were unsure.

I wonder what would be the results if a survey had been conducted among Chinese respondents to questions on whether Umno is a racial party that only looks after the interests of the Malay community and whether Umno is anti-Chinese and anti-non-Islamic religions in the country.

Be that as it may, DAP leaders, members and even supporters should be concerned about the IDE survey, for DAP was never formed to be a party for the Chinese or any particular community but for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region - and it is totally anathema in DAP for anyone to be anti-Islam or any other religion.

In fact, if DAP is founded as a racial party looking after the interests only of the Chinese community, it must be doing quite a poor job that after half a century, only 72 percent of the Malay respondents surveyed felt this was the case, when it should be 100%; when only 64 percent felt that the DAP was anti-Malay and anti-Islam party, when it should again be 100 percent.

But DAP was never founded as a Chinese, anti-Malay or anti-Islam party but as a political party for all Malaysians, encompassing all races, religions and regions.

In fact, in the first general election contested by the DAP in 1969, and now after the 2013 general election (GE13), the DAP has more Indian Members of Parliament than MIC.

Is the DAP a party for the Indians? No, the DAP remains as a party for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

Transcending racial, religious barriers

In the 58-year history of the nation, has there been any political party leader who transcended racial and religious barriers to pay the highest political price for another Malaysian of different race or religion, in the way that the Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had been disqualified as an MP, gone to jail in Kajang, disenfranchised and lost all his civic liberties as a Malaysian citizen to be elected as MP or state assemblyperson, or even to cast his vote for five years after prison release – all for standing up for the rights, honour and dignity of an underage Malay girl?

If there is any Umno, MCA, MIC or Gerakan leader who had crossed racial and religious boundaries in the past six decades to make the highest political sacrifice for another citizen of a different race or religion, let us learn about it!

Right from the very beginning, some 50 years ago, DAP was formed as a political party with a commitment and vision for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

This was why the first three by-elections contested by the DAP before the 1969 general election were Umno strongholds – Kampung Baru in Selangor in January 1967 (where the Umno candidate Ahmad Razali Mohamad Ali won and went on to become Selangor menteri besar in 1982), Tampoi in Johor in September 1967 and the Segamat Utara parliamentary by-election in Johor in October 1968 (where the Umno candidate, Musa Hitam, won and went on to become deputy prime minister in 1982).

This was also why, starting from the first general election in 1969 contested by the DAP, the party had always put up a multi-racial and multi-religious slate of candidates.

In fact, in the 1969 general election, two Malay state assemblypersons were elected, one in Perak (Ibrahim Singgeh - Tapah Road) and the other in Negri Sembilan (Hassan Ahmad - Si Rusa).

In the past 11 general elections, Malay DAP Members of Parliament have been elected (Ahmad Nor, Zairil Khir Johari, Arif Sabri Abdul Aziz and Senator Ariffin Omar), besides state assembly representatives in peninsular Malaysia (Daing Ibrahim Othman, Mohd Salleh Nakhoda Hitam, Fadzlan Yahya and Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji).

In GE13, a Kadazan state assemblyperson from DAP was elected in Sabah and we look forward to the election of the first Dayak DAP state assembly representative in the forthcoming Sarawak state election, which is expected to be held in March.

Double up to be fully Malaysian

All these precedents and breakthroughs are testimony that DAP had never aspired to be a Chinese or non-Malay party and in the new Pakatan Harapan scenario, we will double up in our resolve to be a fully Malaysian party, strengthening our Malay, Dayak and Kadazandusun membership and support in keeping with our Malaysian ideals and aspirations.

This is why we have Impian Sabah, Impian Sarawak, Impian Kelantan, Impian Johor, Impian Kedah/Perlis and Impian Perak, all of which are born out of the conviction that we are all Malaysians and that the country cannot be developed, progressive and prosperous if there are any people, of whatever race or religion, or any state where the people are poor and backward and that all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region, are entitled to the full development of their potentials and rights.

I have always regarded myself as a Malaysian first and Chinese second.

I believe that in this sixth decade of our nationhood, there are more and more Malaysians with such an outlook and commitment – who are Malaysians first, and Chinese, Malays, Indians, Kadazandusun and Iban second.

This is the stuff that Impian Malaysia, whether Impian Sabah, Impian Sarawak, Impian Kelantan, Impian Johor, Impian Kedah/Perlis or Impian Perak, are made of!

After the PAS muktamar in June cutting off relations with DAP, there were already forecasts that with the end of seven-year-old Pakatan Rakyat, DAP will be demonised as a narrow-minded Chinese or non-Malay political party.

They cannot be more wrong, and there is a growing consciousness among various levels of the DAP leadership and membership that we must consciously prove these negative forecast about the DAP as completely wrong and baseless.

No political party seeking support from all Malaysians can be anti-Malay or anti-Islam, or for that matter, anti-Chinese, anti-Indian, anti-Dayak, anti-Kadazandusun or anti-Buddhism, anti-Christianity, anti-Hindiuism or anti-Sikkhism.

The battle against such lies and falsehoods had been a particularly uphill battle for the DAP because we had to face the full onslaught of the Umno juggernaut with its control and ownership of the mass media, particularly in the era before the advent of internet, the internet news portals and the social media.

Now, joining forces with this Umno juggernaut seeking to demonise the DAP as anti-Malay and anti-Islam is the present PAS leadership, as illustrated by the alacrity with which they tried to exploit the lie and baseless allegation that Israel had offered DAP RM1.2 billion in exchange for a Israeli naval base in Port Dickson – so outrageous and preposterous an allegation that even Umno propagandists won’t touch with a barge pole!

The IDE study that Umno-PAS attacks have been successful in fuelling anti-DAP sentiments among Malays is therefore a salutary wake-up call to all DAP leaders and members, and even supporters, of the need to take these demonisaiton campaigns seriously.

There are silver linings in the dark cloud of the IDE study, which found that the 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 – which shows that perceptions towards the party can be changed through direct contact and information campaigns.

LIM KIT SIANG is the MP for Gelang Patah and DAP Parliamentary Leader.