Not letting go, DAP delegates vote to stay in unity government
A total of 1,857 delegates voted for the party to remain in the government, while 242 voted against.
PUTRAJAYA – DAP delegates have voted to remain in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Federal Cabinet, opting to maintain their participation in the unity government despite a series of electoral setbacks.
A total of 1,857 delegates voted for the party to remain in the government, while 242 voted against.
According to Speaker Cha Kee Chin, 2,106 ballot papers were issued, of which 2,099 were deemed valid while seven were spoiled.
Of the valid votes, 88.2 per cent of the delegates supported the motion for the party leadership to remain in the Federal Government. A total 11.5 per cent, rejected the motion.
A total of 2,223 delegates were recorded as attending the conference, which began at 10am.
The decision means DAP’s five full ministers and seven deputy ministers will continue serving in the federal government.
The vote followed a debate among delegates and was conducted using physical ballot papers rather than the traditional voice-vote system. The voting process took about two hours.
The outcome came amid growing pressure within DAP over its political position in the unity government following a series of electoral setbacks that have weakened Pakatan Harapan (PH).
The original date scheduled for the internal 'referendum' vote was July 12. The party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), on June 4, later agreed to postpone the conference to Aug 16.
This delay was necessary to accommodate the dissolution of the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state legislative assemblies and focus on the subsequent state election campaigns.
PH suffered a complete wipeout in the Sabah state election before recording significant losses in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.
In Negeri Sembilan, the Barisan Nasional (BN)-Perikatan Nasional (PN) cooperation secured 25 of the 36 state seats, giving the alliance a two-thirds majority and ending PH’s two-term administration of the state.
DAP also suffered a major blow when its secretary-general Anthony Loke lost his Chennah state seat, which he had held for more than a decade.
Today's referendum was significant because the decision was placed directly in the hands of the grassroots rather than being determined solely by the party's central leadership.
The decision now places greater pressure on the party and the Anwar administration to demonstrate tangible progress on reforms and governance while rebuilding support ahead of the next GE.
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