THE biennial DAP central executive committee (CEC) elections are shaping up to be the most intense in recent memory as they mimic the infamous Penang KOKS (Knock Out Kit [Siang]) campaign which sought to oust DAP founding member Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang.
Now some 28 – years later, KOKS has mutated into a KOGE (Knock Out Guan Eng) campaign – where Kit Siang’s son Lim Guan Eng, the incumbent party chairman, finds himself under siege – especially after his apparent fallout with the Penang DAP leaders.
Guan Eng is said to be facing an uphill battle to regain control of the party that his father dominated since its inception in 1965 until his retirement in 2018.
Kit Siang is said to be rallying for his son Guan Eng despite his apparent retirement but after staying on the sidelines for close to a decade, it is said to be an in surmounted task.
It remains to be seen if KOGE has a similar political effect as KOKS with the latter’s episode having to do with a last-minute move by the late DAP iconic leader Datuk Seri Karpal Singh to side with Kit Siang when campaigning reached a feverish pitch.
Historically speaking Kit Siang was saved but Penang DAP was decimated by reputable grassroots leadership after KOKS.
It took the party over a decade later to regain prominence in 2008 after it won Penang in an election where its main rival – Gerakan was embroiled in infighting among themselves and with the then-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
The problem with Guan Eng, according to the party insiders, is allegedly a combination of nepotism, cronyism and a tendency to be autocratic.
It has left him with a tide of “enemies” and if his domineering style was said to be posted online daily, he may end up with more dislikes than likes reactions.
Nepotism is where he wants his sister, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying to be elevated to the same status that he is in the party.
Nepotism is where he supports the notion that the sons of his father’s once closest ally – the late Karpal – are also elevated into the same leadership realm.
There is now even speculation that Guan Eng is grooming his eldest son – Marcus – to follow the family DAP bloodline.
Cronyism was when Guan Eng’s apparent interference in the Penang DAP candidates in the last state election, which indirectly yielded some elected representatives, who were voted in more because of the party rather than their individual abilities to serve.
The consequence is an alleged subpar performance as either state executive councillors or even as state assembly persons in Penang now.
Even the current Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has been branded as purely a below-average technocrat.
Guan Eng also tends to reflect a tendency to be autocratic, hence he was bestowed the moniker of “tokong” (deity) by his own allies in 2008 when he was insistent on doing things his way or the “highway,” when he was the Penang chief minister from 2008 until 2018.
There is a level any organisation can tolerate in coping with an aggressive domineering style in an age of competency, transparency and accountability.
And for Guan Eng, it is something for him to ponder when one counts more foes than friends in the political arena, the bitter truth may yet come that one may need to exit either gracefully or forcefully.
DAP is also now a party that needs to compromise if it wants power or to sustain it because it has come to symbolise the political might of the non-Bumiputera.
Once, DAP compromised on its so-called principles when it worked with a once fierce critic, the two-time former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the 2018 general election.
Secondly, when as part of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, it bonded with an Umno-led BN to form a national unity government with Sabah and Sarawak components in 2022.
And the rest is history.
Today, Guan Eng is lambasting Umno for what he perceives to be a devious attempt to unseat his family’s legacy in DAP.
On Saturday, some 2,000 delegates have to decide firmly on whether Guan Eng stays or goes, or if he stays but is given a reduced position of influence.
“He is a fighter,” said veteran Datuk Lim Hock Seng, now fully retired from politics.
But the younger leaders such as Chow’s deputy Jagdeep Singh Deo, the oldest son of Karpal and state DAP vice-chairman Zairil Khir Johari, the son of former minister Tan Sri Mohamed Khir Johari, dynastic politics should not become dominant in DAP.
The latter insisted that DAP is a party of merit, not dynasties.
“No individuals should be elevated as leaders in DAP by virtue of being someone’s kin as the party values meritocracy and members would vote based on merit,” said Zairil.
Jagdeep says that he and his siblings Gobind and Ramkarpal, who are vying for a spot in the 30-elected CEC positions, do not possess a sense of “entitlement” just because they are sons of the late Karpal.
In all fairness, Guan Eng has exhibited some form of real and divine leadership.
Guan Eng has made crucial and decisive decisions, which at times make him resemble more of the current populist USA President Donald Trump rather than the consultative nature of the 44th USA President Barack Obama.
Many development projects which are happening now in Penang, were the fruitarians of Guan Eng, who ploughed ahead despite both internal and external opposition.
And he is relatively still young at 64 although he is also now a proud grandfather.
Lest be forgotten, Guan Eng did play a part in building DAP into the force it is now, as the delegates are reminded during a series of campaigning dinners and text messaging.
But perhaps his overly aggressive style, which endears him in DAP but also endangers him to opponents – internal and externally – may no longer be an effective political tool.
DAP CEC elections has a two-tier system.
The first surrounds who among the 70 candidates can qualify for the 30-member committee positions, and the second is when after the 30 winners are declared, they must negotiate among themselves on who would hold what position in the CEC.
In the coming days, it will be crucial to determine if KOGE resembles KOKS or ends with a new spring for the Chinese-dominated party and if Karpal’s slogan reigns true that in politics, there are no permanent friends or foes, only permanent principles.
Remember in KOKS, there was a last-minute change of heart, which salvaged Kit Siang’s leadership in Penang; can history repeat itself in six days? – March 10, 2025