PUTRAJAYA, Aug 16 (Bernama) -- The DAP Party Conference today is the appropriate forum to decide whether the party should remain in or withdraw from the Unity Government, said DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister said such a major decision should be made collectively by the more than 4,000 delegates attending the conference, rather than solely by the 40 members of the Central Executive Committee (CEC).
“We discussed this in the CEC and decided to leave it to the delegates to determine whether the party should remain in the federal government or not. Therefore, the delegates have to make a collective decision for the party.
“As a party in government, there are certainly some constraints and weaknesses that we have to bear together. Therefore, the leadership is leaving it to the delegates to assess whether we should remain in the government until the end of its term or play the role of a pressure group,” he said.
He said this when delivering his policy speech at the 2026 DAP Party Conference at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here.
Also present were DAP advisers Lim Guan Eng and Tan Kok Wai, national chairman Gobind Singh Deo, national deputy chairman Nga Kor Ming, as well as the party’s entire leadership.
Loke also acknowledged that DAP still faces challenges in securing support from Malay voters, following his defeat in the Chennah seat in the recent 16th Negeri Sembilan State Election.
He said his candidacy in the Malay-majority constituency was not aimed at pursuing a personal victory, but rather at proving that DAP could garner support from voters of various races, including in Malay-majority areas.
“I was unable to retain the Chennah seat. I apologise to the delegates for the defeat. I contested not for a personal victory. I contested despite the difficulties because I wanted to prove that DAP can gain the support of voters of various races and that we can win in Malay-majority areas,” he said.
The DAP conference is being held in Putrajaya for the first time.
-- BERNAMA