The current Central Executive Committee, which was elected in 12th November 2017 as a result of the 5-year saga with the Registrar of Societies, expresses its gratitude to DAP leaders at all levels and members for their trust in the leadership and their perseverance in ensuring victory. For the first time in history we have a new government in Malaysia.
The CEC appeals to leaders and members to continue to place their trust in the leadership for the difficult transition to change Malaysia for the better after 61 years of one-party state.
The 14th General Election of 2018 is a great victory of the people. The DAP won 42 parliamentary seats and 101 state seats in the 14th General Election (in addition to the 7 state seats we won in the 2016 Sarawak State Election).
With Pakatan Harapan forming the federal government, DAP has 6 Cabinet ministers and 7 deputy ministers.
DAP also has 7 senators, one each from Penang, Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan and 3 appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
In Penang, the Chief Minister is from DAP with 7 State Exco members. In Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka, we have 5 State Excos in each state. We have 4 State Excos in Johor, 3 in Selangor and 1 in Kedah. In Sabah, we have one State Minister and 2 Deputy Ministers.
For the state assemblies, the Speaker of the Perak and Selangor state assemblies are held by DAP while in Johor and Melaka the party representatives hold the Deputy Speaker position respectively.
DAP also now have more than 400 local councillors, 500 ketua kampung including Malay traditional village, and many other government appointments which we will have to build capacity for and ensure the consistent quality and commitment of our leaders at all levels.
Steady Growth
The party has seen tremendous growth since the political tsunami in 2008. In terms of membership, the party has 172,673 members compared to 78,033 before 2008, with the applications of 39,733 new members still pending.
In terms of branches, the party boosts 1,110 branches, compared to 358 branches in 2008. Another 667 branches have yet to be approved.
Currently DAP has 20 percent women MPs and State Assemblywomen, the largest contingent among all parties.
Thirty percent of DAP MPs are below 40 years old, and 40 percent of DAP State Assemblymen/women are below 40 years old. DAP aspires to see a lot more younger leaders at all levels to ensure that the party is constantly rejuvenated.
DAP aspires to be the natural home for women in politics and also the party that is embraced by youth participation at all levels, including the top.
We are in the process of amending the party constitution to reserve a quota of 30% in the CEC for the election of female members to ensure continuous encouragement for women to participate in politics.
The CEC will ensure that the New DAP builds capacity, be a very focused and disciplined force at all levels to serve Malaysians better.
Our village heads, local councilors, State Excos, State Assemblymen, MPs, deputy ministers and ministers must be seen by the public as effective leaders and collectively be known as the party of ideals and ideas. The public must know that we are in this purely for rebuilding Malaysia for the well-being of today’s and tomorrow’s generations.