DAP CEC Election mistake gets the expected msm glare

Some people said the mistake was deliberately concocted so that at least one Malay got elected instead of merely appointed. I find this rather silly. Would DAP risk its reputation just for this sole reason?

The lack of Malays elected at the recent CEC Election was simply because of the lack of Malay members, and also because the Malay leaders in DAP have yet to make an impact on the majority Chinese delegates.

The appointment of Malay and East Malaysian leaders into the CEC appears to be political pragmatism: to include essential stakeholders in future decision-making, especially with the impending GE 13, and hopefully Pakatan victory at federal level.

Criticisms centred on the mistake (how could this happen in a major political party with political ambitions to run the country?) and political opponents in BN took full advantage of it. DAP Election Director, Pooi Weng Keong was responsible for the tabulation of election results and he took full responsibility by resigning from that position and as FT DAP committee member.

At a rare televised press conference (unusual for an opposition leader, unless it was bad news), party chairman, YB Karpal Singh admitted it was an embarrassing mistake but he hoped Pooi would change his mind on resignation. Despite criticisms, I find the admission of mistake by Pooi the day after the election results were announced (wonder if anyone else would have found out later had he kept quiet) was commendable, after all, 'to err is human'. How many of us can honestly say we had never made any mistake over the years? More important is the honesty in action after having made a mistake. Contrast this with BN leaders who are likely to deny or maintain elegant silence, and unwilling to resign, in the face of scandals involving public funds.

The DAP matter was also important enough to involve DPM Muhyiddin's comment being televised!

The Star (MCA-owned and controlled) covered this DAP mistake on its front page,with bold headline, 'It doesn't add up'. Then the whole of page 6 was devoted to criticisms from MCA leaders: President, Dr Chua Soi Lek, VP, Gan Ping Sieu, Penang's Tan Cheng Liang and H'ng Khoon Leng.

Others included: Kota Belud MP, Rahman Dahlan; PPP President, M Kayveas; Gerakan's Tan Keng Liang; ASLI Chairman Ramon Navaratnam; Prof. Dr. Mohd Mustafa Ishak; Former DAP VP, Tunku Aziz; and Penang Malay Congress President, Rahmad Isahak.

Of course, EC Deputy Chairman, Wan Ahmad, did not miss the opportunity to criticise, having been on the receiving end continually, from the opposition party leaders, Bersih and the like.

The Star columnist, Joceline Tan too, had a field day with her article headlined, Red faces over '1314' mistake. I would have expected something more substantial from her than the frivolous headline. I also take exception to her comment on Dr. Ong Kian Ming:

'Ong, who became famous for accusing the EC of incompetency and wrong-doing, ended up sorting out the muddle for the DAP. The next time Ong tries to teach the EC how to do its job, it will be able to tell Ong to start in his own backyard.'

Earlier in her article, Ong was described as 'latest recruit' who led an internal audit on the mistake. So how can he be held responsible for Pooi's mistake? Joceline's comment would have been fair if Ong was responsible for the election results. Being new, and tasked with the internal audit, Ong had in fact started in his own backyard. So what is the problem?

Again, the main thing that stood out was the biasness in our mainstream media. This is another example of how opposition parties and leaders can only have access to national publicity when they have problems. Isn't that a shame on those in charge of our msm?

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