Can the DAP govern as well as it can oppose?

Can the DAP govern as well as it can oppose?

Khoo Kay Peng | Mar 17, 08 4:30pm, Malaysiakini.

When Dr Lim Chong Eu formed Gerakan with a few political activists in 1968, he saw an opportune time to unite opposing forces to take on the mighty Alliance in the 1969 general election. His party succeeded in Penang and wrested the state government from MCA by a two-thirds majority.

In 2008, DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng achieved the same feat in Penang. His party won 19 out of 19 seats it contested in the state assembly and swept up all seven parliamentary seats. This time, Gerakan was at the receiving end. It lost its seats in Penang to both DAP and PKR (13 state and four parliamentary seats).

But Dr Lim had a head start before he was made the chief minister of Penang in 1969. He had served in the state legislative council under the colonial government several years before independence. His good performance as a legislative councillor was the defining factor which won him solid grassroots support and respect from locals.

His experience and understanding of multifarious issues faced by the community helped Dr Lim to plan for his leadership direction in Penang. To succeed, he knew that his administration had to create enough jobs for the people. Unemployment was almost 15 percent. The only way was to transform Penang's economy from being agriculture based into an industrial powerhouse.

Unlike Dr Lim, the fourth chief minister Lim Guan Eng does not have a similar depth of understanding of issues affecting the state. His politician father, Lim Kit Siang, has been residing in Penang since 1986 but since his 1999 electoral defeat, the elder Lim spends most of his time in Petaling Jaya and Ipoh. Lim only frequented Penang slightly more than a year ago to plan for his eventual political move to Penang. His move, as a strategy to revive the flagging fortunes of DAP in Penang, turned out to be a fruitful one.

However, unlike Dr Lim, Lim will have to do a lot of preparatory work to get to know the state, community associations, chambers of commerce, multinationals, state civil servants and others. This process of consultation and dialogues may take him more than a year to fully understand the issues besetting the state. Lim, a non-native, may face an arduous task trying win over the factional Chinese community associations and other ethnic-oriented associations.

He must be made aware that a number of local personalities were involved in the just concluded general election, not as candidates but king-makers and lobbyists for certain politicians. These personalities will try to get close to him to forge a new alliance. Without adequate local knowledge, he may be sucked into their factional tussle.

The next challenge he faces is to put a team of executive councillors who are knowledgeable, innovative, credible and able to lead. His team of 19 assemblymen consists of qualified individuals and largely first-timers. As an opposition party, their ability to oppose is indisputable but to govern there is a need for a mindset change. Even Lim has to readjust to his new role as a chief minister who is expected to deliver economic growth and prosperity to a 'dynamic' Penang he promised his electorates.

Like Dr Lim, Lim is voted in at a time when Penang economy is losing its lustre and competitiveness. He is expected to wave his magic wand similar to what Dr Lim did for Penang by bringing in high-technology investment into Penang.

On the economy, it is not clear who among the 19 state assemblymen can be entrusted to play a leading role. Dr P Ramasamy, an academician, may look like the best candidate but he is a political scientist and not an economist. A person managing the economic portfolio should also understand the dynamics and fundamentals of global economy and knowledge economy.

The same goes for all other portfolios eg, education, human capital, tourism and culture, public transport and infrastructure, housing and local government et cetera. It is time for his young and energetic team to show that they can run the state as well as they can 'bash up' Umno.

What is certain is that Lim must wake to the reality of leading and managing one of the most demanding states in Malaysia. If Kelantanese voters are unpredictable, Penangites are known to be very brutal. They kicked out MCA in 1969 and 1990 for its inability to stand up for the Chinese community. Their love affair with Gerakan was similarly truncated in 2008. By now, DAP should know that the Penang voters are very decisive when they’ve made up their mind.

Can Lim Guan Eng measure up to Dr Lim Chong Eu? Pundits and critics are awaiting their judgement slightly more than two years from now when they measure the mid-term performance of the DAP led government. Just like how Lim Kit Siang put it, two years is a fair period to measure an administration’s effectiveness and success.

DAP has played an effective opposition role, can it perform similarly as a government?