KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — DAP needs to constantly recruit fresh and better talents if it is to remain relevant and win the hearts of Malaysians, the party’s ousted national publicity secretary Tony Pua said after failing to maintain a spot in its top leadership committee.
Despite the larger number of places allocated this time around — from 20 to 30 — Pua acknowledged that he had been clearly rejected by party delegates in their internal leadership polls yesterday, putting it down to his passion in trying to rejuvenate DAP.
“For the party to succeed and continue to receive the support of Malaysians at large, it must be relentless in renewing itself with better talent — especially if we intend to be the most competent party in government.
“Perhaps my zeal in averaging up the quality of our elected representatives had the unintended consequence of offending some within the party, especially in Selangor where I was first defeated in the party’s state committee election in 2018,” he said in a statement late last night.
Despite losing in the internal election, the Damansara MP said he had no regrets in joining DAP and exchanging his corporate life for politics.
He said he would gladly make way for younger and more talented party members who he said will form the bedrock of DAP’s future and continue the trust given by Malaysians to the party.
He urged DAP members to fully back their new secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook to lead the party to reclaim its spot in the federal government.
“It is undoubtedly disappointing, but I accept the decision of the party delegates with an open heart. I have no regrets whatsoever, as I have given my all over the past 15 years,” he said of losing his seat in the DAP central executive committee (CEC) for the first time since 2008.
The 49-year-old said he had told Loke that he does not wish to be given a co-option seat in the CEC.
“This is simply because, unlike most other candidates who failed to make the cut, they merely did not secure sufficient votes from the delegates.
“In my case, it is clear cut that the party delegates have specifically chosen to reject me, given my existing position in the party. Therefore, it would fly in the face of the delegates’ decision, should I find my way back to the CEC via the co-option exercise,” Pua said.
In the DAP, the elected members of the CEC are empowered to choose 10 additional members to their committee.
In yesterday’s DAP election, delegates elected Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and Seremban MP Loke to its top leadership.
Prominent elected representatives who did not make the cut included Pua and Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming.
Nine women, including the sole Malay candidate Ketari assemblyman Young Syefura Othman joined the line-up under the 30 per cent female quota.
Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng bowed out as secretary-general after the maximum three terms while his father and party veteran Lim Kit Siang announced his retirement from politics.
