Teluk Intan Byelection: Mah Siew Keong won by a 238 majority

I have said what needed to be said in the preceding article. Here is my take on the Teluk Intan by election.

The people of Teluk Intan did not make history as I wrote yesterday. We cannot fault their choice even though we may disagree with them. They have complete freedom to reverse the choice they made in May 2013. It’s the right to recall exercisable though the ballot box. We must respect that.

We must not be condescending towards those elated at seeing DAP lose, because we know victory for BN isn’t their priority- their overriding desire is to see DAP eat humble pie. Each night, DAP is causing them nightmares. Indeed, we offer our sympathies to those whose sleep have been haunted with nightmares of DAP taking over Malaysia. The apparitions of Kit Siang and Guang Eng, Tony Pua, Anthony Loke must be too much for them. They can’t stand the Tiger of Puchong either.

It’s no big deal. My article was a political pamphlet meant to persuade readers in the direction of a particular conduct. Enthusing about a subject matter is not a crime.

The DAP candidate lost in yesterday’s Teluk Intan buy-election. A loss is a loss. We must congratulate Mah Siew Keong who will go on to become a minister. This was promised by Najib. He will join some MCA leaders to be inducted into the cabinet. Mah will likely become a minister in the PM’s department in charge of some things to fill up the work space.

Mah Sew Keong won by 238 votes. For Dyana Daud, this wasn’t a bad showing and performance at all. She will re-sharpen her claws to come back again. We must thank all party workers and supporters who worked hard and cried when Dyana lost. This tells me only one thing- they will become more resolute and fortify their resolve.  

Now, it’s time to reassess the DAP’s loss. Was it a bad move to field a young Malay professional in an area where the majority of the people are Chinese? Malays only formed 38% of the population. Combined, the non-Malay voters would give an overwhelming victory to DAP candidate. What did DAP lack doing that couldn’t get them victory this time- but it secured a win the last time it fielded a Chinese candidate?

Many came back to me on the internet with cynical remarks about the loss. The Malays will continue to become window dressers. I in particular will still become a stooge to the tokong lims. The previous article I wrote was counting the chickens before they hatched. Those who remarked so do not understand how to play politics. It was an article meant to shape conduct and action for this election. But the infantile minds would not understand would they? So, we will leave them in their miserable state of mind.

Was the selection of Dyana Daud a tactical mistake given the initial opposition by grassroots in Teluk Intan? Maybe it was indeed a tactical mistake but strategically it was a correct one. It corrected the misconception that DAP is a sinister political party out to destroy a Malay led government. It is good for  the long run.

I suspect there were some DAP members who did not accept the CEC’s decision to put up Dyana Daud- but the number is small. Maybe these people did not come out to vote and maybe up to 200 did not vote. Maybe some of these were among the 550 spoil votes soiling up the voting slips in protest.

This was a price DAP has to pay to prove to the people, that it is serious in advancing the cause of a multiracial society consisting of Malaysians committed to a government that rules on the principle of rule of law. Its willingness to put up Dyana in a place, in which the majority are Chinese, reinforces its commitment. It has won adherence.

To the Malays- that has done a lot to dispel the image that DAP is a Chinese chauvinistic party. I have been doing ceramahs with my PAS counterparts in many Malay areas in Teluk Intan- Kampung Bahagia, Batak Rabit, Kg Sungai Samak, Kg Banjar, sungai Tunku, etc. Malay attendance in these places was reasonable and the response was enthusiastic. Something done as a sign of goodwill invites reciprocal goodwill. Support from Malay voters is up this time. In PRU13, Malay support was around 25%. This time, initial results showed Malay support has gone up to 28%. This should be taken as a positive point.

The perplexing issue is the drop in Chinese vote and Indian votes. There was a noticeable drop of Chinese votes from 85% to 70% and Indians from 61% to around 50%.

There may some simple explanations regarding the unimpressive Chinese response. It may be just a case of not going out to vote. Participation this time is just 67%. Only about 41,000 came out to vote. If we take the racial composition of inhabitants in Teluk Intan as proximate measures of voters, the pattern is 42-38 -19 per cent breakdown.

If Chinese voters make up 42% of the voters, then there should be around 17,000 Chinese voters. If 70% of them voted DAP yesterday, DAP secured 12,000 Chinese votes.  We expected 85% of them to vote for DAP but they didn’t. About 2,500 Chinese did not vote neither by staying away or voted the other way.

The 2500 who did not vote DAP this time acted as they did either because they do not agree with DAP’s decision or stayed away. Either way, DAP must now spend as much time to cultivate the minds of their core supporters as they do on Malays to reinforce the  idea that the way forward is to have a multiracial based party. It is our common future.  They have to accept that more and more Malays will join the party. But they need not be fearful of the leadership structure, the majority of DAP leaders will remain in Chinese leaders. To me it does not matter if the majority of DAP leadership remains in Chinese hands provided they have the right values that support our common vision.

What is heartening is the show of support from the younger generation and the Malays. Malays are slowly accepting that the worth of an individual is in the causes he espouses. Malays who attended the ceramah at OCBC square appreciated when Chin Tong stopped his speech to give way to the Azan. Many Malays told me they were teary eyed at Liew Chin Tong’s gesture. DAP has gained respect from the Malays in Teluk Intan.

The older generation is more or less set in their ways and it is very difficult to dislodge them from long held perceptions. Older Malays see DAP as the chauvinistic and sinister party UMNO portrays them as. The older Chinese may have opted to choose Mah because of his ethnicity and also with the hope that with a full ministership, Mah can deliver many of the promises made during this election. The drop in Indian votes may be explained by the simple fact that many of them have chosen to acquire immediate gratification in so many forms the BN offered them during the by-election. In these hard times, their actions are understandable.