DAP members who feel party contradicts their principles should quit: Ramsamy

BUTTERWORTH: DAP members are free to quit the party if they feel their principles and that of the party is not the same.

Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramsamy (pix) said members who felt the stand of the party contradicted their own principles can leave.

"No one is indispensable, DAP will move on for the betterment of the country," he said in a press conference today after opening a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) conference.

The remarks by Ramasamy comes after DAP Chai Leng Park branch publicity secretary Shamsher Singh quit the party following the acceptance of former foe Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad within the opposition ranks.

The former DAP life member said he had lost faith in the party leadership and in Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang in a Dec 4 statement.

He said there was no one in the party leadership to provide an effective check and balance after former Bukit Gelugor MP and DAP chairman Karpal Singh died in an accident in 2014.

The DAP national convention over the weekend saw the attendance of Mahathir which caused a media frenzy and surprised political observers.

Ramasamy, who is also DAP deputy secretary general, said the party should get as many friends as possible to face the 14th General Elections.

"Politics is about the art of the possible," he said of Mahathir, a former Prime Minister and political nemesis, teaming up with the opposition against Barisan Nasional.