Malaysia’s DAP to Hold Vote on Whether to Remain in Anwar’s ‘Unity’ Government — SkimNews
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- DAP will convene a special national congress on August 16, where roughly 4,000 delegates will vote on whether to stay in Anwar Ibrahim's unity government, Secretary-General Anthony Loke announced Monday.
- DAP holds 40 of Pakatan Harapan's 77 federal parliament seats and currently has five ministers and seven deputy ministers in Anwar's cabinet, giving it outsized leverage inside the coalition.
- Pakatan Harapan won just 11 of 36 seats in Saturday's Negeri Sembilan state election, down from 17 previously — extending a losing streak that already includes defeats in Johor last month and Sabah in November.
- DAP Secretary-General Anthony Loke lost his own Negeri Sembilan state seat after 13 years and resigned as the party's state chairman, a personal blow as the party's urban Chinese voter base has begun abstaining or switching parties.
- DAP has been hemorrhaging support over corruption scandals — including reports of widespread misconduct at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission — and frustration with the slow pace of promised reforms since PH's 2022 alliance with Barisan Nasional.
- Anwar's coalition faces a separate threat from an emerging UMNO-PAS pan-Malay alliance that cooperated successfully in Negeri Sembilan and could prove decisive at the next general election, which must be held by early 2028.
- DAP national Chairman Gobind Singh Deo accepted the result "with full humility," saying the party would "listen carefully to the concerns of the people" and work to regain voter confidence.
Why it matters: DAP's 40 parliamentary seats are enough to cost PH its federal majority if delegates vote to leave on August 16, potentially forcing a snap election that Anwar has already said he might call — one an emerging UMNO-PAS pan-Malay pact appears better positioned to contest after PH's third straight state-level defeat.
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