Arya News - The choice of Putrajaya, the country’s administrative capital, as the conference venue reflected the party leadership’s determination to remain in federal power. The result cemented its commitment to staying in the Anwar government.
PUTRAJAYA – Malaysia’s Democratic Action Party (DAP) voted to remain in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government at its national conference that gathered over 4,000 delegates, held in Putrajaya for the first time on Aug 16.
But only 2,223 delegates – a turnout of 52.1 per cent – stayed on for the referendum, which saw 1,857 votes in favour of remaining in the Cabinet, 242 votes against and seven spoilt votes, while 117 delegates did not cast their vote.
The choice of Putrajaya, the country’s administrative capital, as the conference venue reflected the party leadership’s determination to remain in federal power. The result cemented its commitment to staying in Anwar’s government.
After the result was announced, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke thanked the 84 per cent of the delegates who attended the referendum and voted for the party to stay on. He had tabled the motion for the vote earlier in the morning.
“Some reforms have been agreed upon, and we hope they will be implemented not only within Pakatan Harapan (PH) but also at the Cabinet level, including the separation of the attorney-general and public prosecutor (offices), a two-term limit for the prime minister, and the anti-corruption agenda,” he told reporters in the evening.
When asked why half of the delegates did not participate in the vote, Loke said the turnout rate was considered high for a party congress without an election. He explained that some grassroots members, including hawkers and petty traders, may have had to work over the weekend.
The decision eases pressure on Anwar, whose administration had faced the prospect of collapse and an early general election following a string of electoral setbacks. Malaysia’s next nationwide polls must be called before February 2028.
With 40 seats in Parliament, the Chinese-dominated DAP is the largest party in the PH ruling coalition, making its decision critical to Anwar’s ability to maintain his parliamentary majority and remain in office.
Anwar’s PH has suffered defeats in Sabah and Johor, and its latest setback came on Aug 1 when it lost control of Negeri Sembilan. The Barisan Nasional (BN)-Perikatan Nasional (PN) electoral pact won the state by avoiding three-cornered fights and banking on a “Malay unity” campaign.
Compounding the coalition’s woes, that alliance dealt a heavy blow to PH heavyweights: Transport Minister Loke lost his three-term Chennah seat, while caretaker chief minister Aminuddin Harun also lost his state assembly seat.
DAP had called for a party-wide referendum on whether it should remain in Anwar’s Cabinet after failing to win any of the eight seats it contested in the Sabah state election in November 2025.
DAP delegates divided over decision to stay
All 14 state delegates who participated in the debate session before the poll at 1pm supported the party to stay in the government.
Perak delegate Jason Ng pointed out that political opponents, such as the Malaysian Chinese Association and PN, led by Parti Islam SeMalaysia, would have benefited from DAP’s walkout.
“We don’t give up despite losing a series of state elections. PM Anwar should implement the unfulfilled promises of reform,” he told delegates. Another Perak delegate, Soo Hoo Zheyang, agreed, telling The Straits Times: “We can only shout empty slogans outside the system and can’t make changes within the system.”
Perak DAP was the only state whose leaders collectively agreed to stay in the federal government.
Among the discussed reforms raised in the debate were increasing the minimum threshold for e-invoicing, and reverting the subsidised RON95 petrol and diesel quota to 300 litres from the existing 200 litres. The former is a major concern among ethnic Chinese small and medium-sized enterprise owners, who worry that it would increase their cost of doing business.
On the other hand, Kuala Lumpur DAP delegate Sangeet Kaur Deo called on the DAP central executive committee to review its relationship with Anwar, accusing the latter of “pitting allies against each other” by empowering UMNO, which leads BN.
She urged DAP leaders in the Cabinet to speak up about grassroots dissatisfaction with the government.
“If we must be in the opposition again, at least we have laid the basis to regain our credibility. The bottom line is that we stay, but for a different reason,” Sangeet told delegates, who applauded in support.
Two delegates, who requested anonymity to avoid affecting party unity, told ST that they were keen for DAP to quit the government.
Meanwhile, a Penang delegate who wished to be known as Louise Tan, 44, said the belief of the DAP ministers and leaders that the party can win the next general election simply by providing good constituency service and implementing good policies is merely wishful thinking.
“We should prioritise the party by recruiting more members and strengthening the leadership, rather than focusing on administering the country,” she said.
A Selangor delegate, who wished to be known as Tan, 42, said she was in Putrajaya to vote for DAP to quit as a way of expressing her anger towards Anwar.
“We need to proactively express our views rather than remain passive,” she said.
Phoon Wing Keong, head of Chinese community think-tank Huayan Policy Institute, said the grassroots mandate should not be read as a vote of confidence in Anwar’s performance.
“If reforms show limited progress over the next six months to a year, DAP should consider whether to contest the next general election under its own ‘rocket’ banner and whether to continue supporting Anwar as prime minister,” he said.
Meanwhile, in response to dissatisfaction among DAP grassroots members, Anwar vowed on Aug 16 to remain with DAP despite acknowledging that the Chinese-majority party is a stumbling block to winning Malay votes.
He related how some Malay voters in Negeri Sembilan had told the state’s then chief minister that they would have voted for his Parti Keadilan Rakyat if DAP were not in the picture.
“But our choice is to be rational and wise. Loyalty must be there. We must stand our ground,” Anwar said at his party’s congress in Melaka.