With regard to the many recent letters criticising DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang's proposal that the DAP form a front with the other secular parties and its earlier decision to withdraw from the Barisan Alternatif, I say that the DAP must focus on making its alternative democratic socialist policies for running Malaysia known to the voters if it hopes to win seats in any significant numbers in the next general election.

In the last 10 or more years, the DAP seems to have forsaken its traditional constituency of workers, squatters and petty traders to instead rely on political shenanigans that appeal to sentiment over single issues and instances to try and garner support for itself.

For instance, on the several occasions when I've met Kit Siang or spoken to DAP members, I've mentioned that it should stop its usual motion of calling for royal commissions into unfortunate occurrences like the Highland Towers collapse, criticising the transport minister and demanding an explanation for the initial teething problems at the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) when it newly opened, making lots of noise over Huaren Holdings' acquisition of Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press or jumping up and down supporting this or that single issue over Chinese language or schools.

It should be doing more to get its alternative programme for Malaysia known among voters and its support base, so that it has some hope of forming the next government in coalition with other parties and change all these unjust policies, rather than condemn itself to being a mere barking watchdog in parliament.

The Malaysian public know what's wrong with this country which has been under Alliance and then Barisan Nasional rule since independence and don't need to be constantly reminded. But for all that it's doing wrong, the Malaysian public can't help but to also perceive that the Barisan Nasional is doing something right in being able to provide us a fairly comfortable standard of living.

I don't like the system of tolls we have in this country. I don't like the type of 'development' going on in Petaling Jaya where I live which is converting the PJ I love into a congested middle-class slum with traffic jams and potholed roads.

I don't like the privatisation of medical services and so on but apart from PAS', I also don't know what alternatives other opposition parties have to offer - apart from an alternative programme outlined in Keadilan's manifesto only at election time - after which they're back to "Anwar", "Anwar", "Anwar" and "reformasi".

The DAP says that it stands for democratic socialism but I hardly know what the DAP means by "democratic socialism" and what it means for Malaysians overall, while I at least understand and have direct exposure and experience of what Britain's old Labour Party meant by "democratic socialism" back in the 1970s.

I injured my knee and was warded in a British government hospital for free during my student days there and I got free medical and dental treatment under Britain's National Health Service (NHS) back then, before the Tories under neo-liberal Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 and implemented policies gutting the NHS which have been continued under the new 'yuppie' party of Tony Blair.

Can I expect the same in Malaysia if I were to lose my job tomorrow and not be covered by company medical benefits, or after I retire in less than 10 years?

Whenever I ask the DAP the question, I'm told to go and check out its website or read its published statements but while I'm fortunate enough to have the Internet access and live close enough to the DAP's headquarters to go and read its policy statements, how many other potential voters are fortunate enough to have such opportunities?

However, nobody besides PAS is offering voters a comprehensive and holistic alternative programme and consistently working to make its programme known, while consistently building up its support base and not constantly whinging about not being allowed to hold public rallies or not being given enough radio and TV air time during election time, or complaining about the mainstream media being biased in favour of the Barisan Nasional.

PAS knows it can't expect such bourgeois-democratic niceties right now in Malaysia and instead find alternative ways to get its message across to its constituency.

Looking at the four main opposition parties - i.e. PAS, Keadilan, PRM and DAP - I feel that PAS is the most organised and is constantly working on getting its alternative programmes known and on building up its influence especially among its traditional constituency of Muslims and even earning the admiration of non-Muslims - even if some of it is given grudgingly.

In the discussions on the Islamic state issue with PAS shortly before the DAP's split with the BA, I felt that the DAP was once again picking on a single issue (i.e. its opposition to an Islamic state) with PAS to appease the DAP's supposed constituency of Chinese voters, while PAS on the other hand handled the discussions with confidence and commitment like the Islamic state was just one of its many alternative policies for Malaysia if it forms the next government.

DAP on the other hand seemed to be panicking, as if it had no other issues on its mind besides straining to assure its constituents about its opposition to an Islamic state.

Also while a multiracial Malaysian Malaysia has been one of its key stated policies ever since the DAP was formed in 1965 - a carry-over from the Peoples' Action Party (PAP) out of which it came following Singapore's separation from Malaysia - I can't help but feel that the DAP has increasingly become focused on Chinese voters in the last 10 to 15 years, despite officially claiming to be a multiracial party.

If DAP hopes to be an effective, multi-racial party, the DAP should learn from PAS and return to its traditional support base among the grassroots.

Seeking to form alliances and electoral pacts here and there is important but does not substitute for consistent, day-to-day political work and it's thus a lazy option that the DAP is taking.

The DAP should also learn from the dismal performance of opposition parties in Singapore which resorted to political shenanigans over single issues in the run-up to the recent general elections in Singapore.

Is the DAP going to continue with its political shenanigans as a cheap way to pick up a few votes or is it going to get serious about being a credible party fit to be part of a future Malaysian government?