EVERY 36 months, a window of opportunity emerges for the DAP to shed light on the organisation’s basic governance structure for political commentators and the wider public. With internal elections taking place every three years comes renewed interest on the happenings and structural make-up of the party. This is a positive development and serves as a recognition of its increasingly important role in Malaysia’s political landscape.
As states conduct their respective ordinary conventions, conversations in recent weeks have revolved around the recently concluded Penang DAP party polls. Of the various chatters and commentaries online, I found questions on the party’s two-tiered polling process particularly interesting and shall use this article to correct misconceptions and touch on the basic features and spirit of the system as outlined in the party constitution.
Hopefully, this short primer of DAP’s internal electoral process will serve to benefit many including those who casually follow the ongoings of Malaysian politics.
Democratic At Multiple Levels
As per the tradition of most left-wing parties, DAP is led by a Secretary-General and it practices a delegate system, where delegates represent their respective branches to elect a cohort of leaders at the state and national level. For example, branch members vote for delegates they want to send to the DAP National Congress. These delegates will then elect 30 Central Executive Committee (CEC) members and from whom a Secretary-General, a National Chairman, and other office-bearers are elected.
At the state level, delegates vote for only 15 candidates to be part of the State Committee. They then go through a similar process where successfully elected candidates deliberate and elect office bearers. Essentially, whoever commands the confidence of the majority of this cohort will helm the committee. This is laid out in the party constitution where it reads that “every state committee member shall elect amongst its members” who occupies positions such as “a State Chairman, a State Deputy Chairman, Two State Vice Chairmen, A State Secretary” and so on.
DAP’s democratic practice, where leaders are not directly elected, is not out of the ordinary. In fact, if we take a closer look at Malaysia’s parliamentary system, we also do not directly elect the members of the Executive branch – i.e. Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, and Ministers. Unlike the US-style presidential system, we vote for our representatives in Parliament. Whoever commands the majority’s support among these parliamentarians, will then get the chance to lead and form a government. Similar concept applies to the states.
Democratic practice among Malaysia’s political parties is vibrant and takes many forms. Different parties have their own methods of determining their leadership line-up. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) practices direct elections to select its president, while for UMNO, delegates from parliamentary division directly vote for their top leadership.
Of course, no model or approach is perfect. Each will have its merits and challenges. However, knowing the power structures and how they function becomes invaluable for members at the grassroots level to influence and sway leaders at the top – essentially what democracy is all about.
Finding Common Grounds
Given DAP’s differentiated governing structure, party delegates will have formulated customised voting strategies, each with their own set of preferred leaders, either top 30 at the national level or top 15 at the state level. It may not fully rely on a single persona, rendering assessments on a candidate’s performance based solely on votes garnered wholly inaccurate.
This practice of electing a pool of candidates also allows delegates to ensure the selection of an inclusive leadership team that is diverse in terms of experience, skillsets, background, perspectives, and outlook – becoming a natural mechanism of check and balance. Combine this with other safeguards in the party constitution including provisions on term limits, fair representation mechanisms, and inclusion of elected representatives as part of the organisation’s decision-making process, the structure provides the party with an impetus to stay relevant with the times.
Democracy must ultimately serve the people. This means that our focus should go beyond just the polling booth to how we can find common ground on issues that matters to the people. Measures implemented by the DAP up to date have ensured that there are enough channels and avenues within the party to bring up aspirations and concerns of the members and the public to be considered during committee deliberations.
It is heartening to see more and more people taking interest on the inner workings of the DAP. Hopefully, this opens up more interactions that not only will improve how we serve the people but also strengthen Malaysia’s democratic practices.
Graduan Ekonomi yang entah macam mana terjebak dalam industri komunikasi dan media. Menulis demi kesaksamaan, kebebasan dan kebersamaan. Bekas Ahli Jawatankuasa Pemuda Sosialis Kebangsaan DAP. Kini bertugas sebagai Pengarah Komunikasi REFSA (Research For Social Advancement).
