By DayakDaily Team
PUTRAJAYA, Aug 16: Delegates of the Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) special congress today have voted that the party remain in the federal government until the end of the current parliamentary term.
According to a news report from Free Malaysia Today, 2,099 votes were counted, with 88 per cent, or 1,857 delegates, voting for the party to remain in government, while 242 voted for the party to leave the administration.
Negeri Sembilan DAP secretary Cha Kee Chin made the announcement, adding that 2,223 delegates attended the special congress today, accounting for about 52.12 per cent of those registered to attend.
In a press conference, DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also PKR president, had discussed delegates’ dissatisfaction with the party’s cooperation with Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) with Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) leadership.
“He wanted this government to remain stable. The prime minister recognises differences between the parties in the Madani government. But we have to keep the government stable to ensure that what we are pushing for can be implemented,” he said.
Loke also said delegates raised critical views, wanting the government and the party to be more decisive and assertive.
He said the party respected the views shared by the delegates and would ensure they were conveyed to the government through the Cabinet.
The national congress saw delegates decide the party’s fate in the federal government, where it holds five full ministers and seven deputy ministers.
This was triggered by DAP’s performance in the Sabah, Johor, and Negeri Sembilan state elections in which the party suffered losses.
In the Sabah State election, held on Nov 29, 2025, DAP suffered one of its biggest losses, as it was wiped out after losing all eight seats it contested.
The biggest casualty was Tanjung Aru, where Sabah DAP deputy chairman Datuk Chan Foong Hin, also the deputy plantation and commodities minister, lost to Warisan.
This also marked the first time since 2004 that DAP has no representation in the Sabah Legislative Assembly.
Later, in the Johor state election held on July 11, DAP secured six seats but lost four.
However, in the Negeri Sembilan state election held on Aug 1, DAP suffered another major loss when Loke failed to defend his seat in Chennah.
Loke, who is also the federal minister of transport, held the seat for three terms before losing it to the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) under BN.
The Negeri Sembilan state election saw DAP win nine seats while losing two. — DayakDaily
