IPOH, April 9 — Perak DAP said it has been working hard to discard its anti-Malay image by getting involved in projects to uplift the Malay and Orang Asli communities.

Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming cited the construction of a fishing jetty for Malay fishermen in Teluk Intan and a geometric water pump for the Orang Asli in Gerik — part of the party’s Impian Perak projects — as prime examples.

"The response has been encouraging. Once people see how sincere and committed we are, they respond positively,” Nga, who is Taiping MP and Kepayang assemblyman, told Malay Mail here today.

"This election must transcend religious and racial boundaries, and focus on good governance and policies. Without this, the country will be doomed.”

Nga said DAP, along with its allies in Pakatan Harapan (PH), were working hard to trigger a 10 per cent swing among Malay voters in Perak.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang had reportedly said PH could win Perak, Negri Sembilan and Johor if the coalition received an additional 10 per cent of Malay votes and five per cent of non-Malay votes.

If these conditions were met — along with an 85 per cent voter turnout — Nga said PH would be able to win 38 to 40 seats in Perak, thus winning two-thirds majority in the 59-seat state legislative assembly.

Barisan Nasional (BN) controls 31 seats to the Opposition’s 28 seats (DAP has 18, while PKR and PAS have five each).

But for this to happen, Nga said it was important for DAP to dispel the perception that they were biased against any race, or that they were dominating PH in Perak.

"Over the past 10 years, we have been working very hard on the ground in Malay and orang asli areas,” he told Malay Mail.

"We tell them that we are committed to the reformation agenda just like our partners in Pakatan Harapan, and that we work based on consensus.

"DAP does not make any decisions if our partners in Pakatan Harapan don’t agree, so there is no question of us dominating the coalition.”

Nga said the perception of DAP as anti-Malay was baseless, noting that the party had many multi-racial leaders, MPs and assemblymen throughout its history.  

This perception, he said, was due to "demonisation over the past 60 years” by the ruling BN.

To counteract this, Nga said DAP and its PH allies moved to dispel these myths whenever they spoke to Malay voters.

Nga also rubbished the claim that former Mentri Besar and current Perak Amanah deputy chairman, Datuk Seri Muhammad Nizar Jamaluddin, was a "puppet” controlled by DAP.

"He has a track record of being a progressive and moderate leader. We love working with him and we have a lot of respect for him.

"We are happy to work with anyone who is as outstanding as him. But it’s baseless to say that he is being controlled,” Nga stressed.