Voting begins in DAP's CEC re-election

GEORGE TOWN: The special central executive committee (CEC) elections of DAP couldn't have come at a better time for the party which is besieged with floods in Penang, a bitter split with PAS, and the looming 14th general election.
Around 2,500 delegates from 1,000 branches would vote from a pool of around 50 candidates for 20 elected CEC slots while the remaining 10 would be appointed by the same committee at the One World Hotel in Petaling Jaya today.
In the 2012 list, there were 2,576 delegates but some like the late DAP icon Karpal Singh, have passed on or left the party.
DAP's organising secretary Anthony Loke Siew Fook expects the reelection of office bearers to be a routine exercise, as many delegates realise that this election was imposed on them rather than a scheduled party election.
But on the sidelines, there would be several talking points, such as who would garner the top placing, as it is reflective of DAP's future in view of the impending national elections.
In jest, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also the secretary-general, recently teased journalists here when he blurted out that from the "way things are going, he may lose (in the CEC)."
Guan Eng was referring to the challenges in handling the worst floods in Penang.
But by most accounts, Guan Eng is expected to retain his placing in the party's highest decision-making body, but where he places is an important consideration of the Lims' continued dominance of the party.
Party veteran Lim Kit Siang, Guan Eng's father, is also contesting.
Penang Alternative Party (PAP)'s vice-president Rahmad Isahak, who is a former DAP member, agreed that the party was distracted, especially over the quality of governance in Penang with the spate of landslides and flooding.
Also, the rise of environmentalists like Tanjung Bungah's assemblyperson Teh Yee Cheu is a point to ponder, as he was now championing what DAP used to be doing when they were in the Opposition in Penang, Rahmad said.
Teh has confirmed that he intends to contest in today's CEC.
Other talking points Rahmad reckons would happen, is how the Malay candidates would fare in this election, the term of Guan Eng as the secretary-general, the issues dominating Penang, and the party's preparation for the next election.
There is also the issue of whether the party's veteran and Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw, has managed to nurse his rift with the party over the past year.