DAP national youth chief Anthony Loke has warned its members not to depend solely on the chief minister to win the coming 13th general election in Penang.

Loke - the Lobak assemblyperson - said that although Lim Guan Eng has made the DAP popular, members must never be ‘overconfident’ of continued victory especially in Penang.

“Many say that (for) Penang, (there is) no problem (to maintain the state). I don’t agree. I want to remind everyone not to be complacent,” he told the 60 delegates at the party’s state youth convention yesterday.

“Victory cannot just depend on Guan Eng alone but should be based on the contributions of all party members. If we just depend on Guan Eng only, it won’t be for very long,” he added.

The state DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) delegates yesterday elected Komtar assemblyperson and Lim’s political secretary, Ng Wei Aik, as state Dapsy chief, replacing Yeoh Soon Hin.

Others in the line-up include Lee Chun Kit (deputy chairperson), Lim Thing and Yap Soo Huey (vice-chairpersons) and Soon Lip Chee (secretary).

NONE Meanwhile, Loke ( right ) said he cannot deny that Guan Eng - DAP’s secretary-general - has played a very important role in Penang but cautioned that others, too, need to do their part.

He urged the DAP youths to be a “pressure group” who constantly do checks and balances in the state, providing constructive suggestions to the administration to ensure continued effectiveness.

He added that the DAP played a very significant role in the past as an expert of exposing “scandals” of the previous BN government.

“But the situation has changed now. We are the government in Penang. We should continue to play the role of checks and balances. We cannot say this is not our job,” he said.

“The rules of the game have changed. It can be a double-edged sword. We can continue to attack BN but this, if not done properly, can also backfire on us,” he advised.

“We must be brave enough to raise issues of the rakyat and bring the aspiration of the youths to the state government. We should not just complain but find ways to resolve the issues by giving constructive input,” he added.

Three major youth issues

Loke then pointed out three major issues affecting the youths in Penang, and in general - job and personal security, and quality of life.

On a related matter, Loke said that DAP must continue to cooperate with PAS and PKR in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition to ensure continued victory in the polls.

“Or else, there would be no victory for any party. Whatever we do, we must always think of how to maintain cooperation in Pakatan.”

He also urged DAP youth members not to forget their basic ideology which is based on socialism, saying that the theory - based on fairness and equality - remains but must be applied to the current Malaysian situation.