DAP-SNAP merger can topple state BN — Lim
KUCHING: A local scholar has described SNAP as “an essentially dead party” and is puzzled why the DAP wants to merge with them.
Unimas’ Faculty of Social Sciences Associate Prof Dr Andrew Aeria wondered if DAP had thought it through before it proposed the merger recently.
“SNAP is essentially a dead party and has the DAP done its homework?” he directed this question at DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng during a public forum entitled ‘The Myth of 2011 Sarawak State Election: Only The Chinese Voters Swung to PR’ here last Sunday.
Dr Aeria’s question brought laughter to the hall before the Chief Minister of Penang addressed the doubt.
“It depends on how you define ‘dead’. There was this case in Penang where a doctor pronounced the death of a patient but the patient came to life later,” Lim quipped.
He added that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) aimed to see straight fights in Sarawak and the merger between DAP and SNAP would be seen as consolidating forces with the ultimate objective of taking down the present government.
Lim said the merger would also represent a sign of sincerity of the DAP in reaching out to the non-Chinese communities.
Hoping not to see animosity as a result of the merger talks, Lim said the move was targetted at tackling Barisan Nasional during elections to initiate radical changes.
Meanwhile, at a news conference on the same day, DAP Sarawak chairman Wong Ho Leng admitted that the party had held talks with SNAP’s senior leaders here. Another meeting would be held in Miri soon.
“The merger is to strengthen PR and not to weaken it. It is also one essential way to avoid multi-cornered fights in future,” he said.
The Sibu Member of Parliament and Bukit Assek assemblyman said the merger talks so far appeared positive but he came up with a different definition for the word.
“Positive here does not mean a successful merger,” asserted Wong, who is a lawyer by profession.
He pointed out that the merger, if materialised, would dispel the perception that DAP was a Chinese party.
DAP now has Bumiputera branches in places such as Sungei Merah, Sibu Jaya and Dudong in Sibu as well as Sri Aman and Balai Ringin.
“These are all Iban-majority, if not branches with all Ibans. DAP is not a single-race party although I cannot give you (reporters) off hand how many non-Chinese members we have,” he said.
Whether he agreed that SNAP “is an essentially dead party”, Wong replied: “I’m never able to agree that SNAP is a dead party as we should always support one another.”
He said no political parties deserved to be termed as ‘mosquito party’, regardless of their size and strength.
“No doubt that SNAP did not do well in the election but this is not the reason we cannot work together to strengthen Pakatan Rakyat. DAP must reach out to engage all races.”
tunku : why dap need to merge with snap? why not pkr? pkr has more native members than the dap. dap is slowly taking lead in pakatan and trying to get all the people so that when the time come they can ditch pas and pkr. it seems like they want to take all by themselves without the other two.pas and pkr is being RULED by dap right now.dap is aiming at taking over the country slowly and pkr and pas is helping them to achieve that mission without realizing that they will be kicked out one day by dap, they are just using pas and pkr.they had hold pkr in their fist by making karpal the lead counsel for anwar's sodomy case. they know everything about anwar and anwar now have to bow to them.pas stupidly following pkr footstep in becoming the donkey of dap.we hope pas and pkr members will realize of this secret agenda of dap and show them the door out before it's too late.
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