DAP will meet the Registrar of Societies’ (ROS) request for an official letter informing it of the party’s central executive committee (CEC) re-election details even though it is not necessary.

NONE Calling ROS bureaucratic and demanding, DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke ( left ) said that it could not respond earlier as its priority under party laws was first to inform delegates of the September 29 re-election.

"Since ROS is so bureaucratic and unhappy with us, saying we are waging a media war , we will send a letter to them and hand deliver it by this afternoon," Loke told reporters at the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

"What else does ROS want?"

To make the election even more transparent than the last, DAP has appointed an international auditor and sent out letters to all delegates early, he said.

Letters will be sent out to some 2,576 delegates all over Malaysia today, giving over three weeks notice, more than the seven-day requirement.

Perak has the most DAP representatives (588), followed by Selangor (578) and Penang (459). Letters would also be sent out to all DAP’s 985 branches nationwide.

The party will spend about RM200,000 for the fresh elections using the exact same list of 68 candidates from Dec 15 last year, Loke said. From the list, party delegates will choose 20 members to form the new CEC.

Six of the candidates have, however, dropped out from contesting, including one member, John Fernandez, who had quit the party before the May 5 general election.

Loke, who is also Seremban MP, also said that Serdang MP Ong Kian Meng has been appointed as the returning officer overseeing the whole election process, which would use the same system as before. He hoped that the new elections would draw even more participation.

“It is our hope to achieve a higher turnout compared to the last congress but we have no control over the matter,” Loke said, adding that about three-quarters of total eligible delegates turned up to vote on the previous occasion.

Loke said that DAP decided to keep the same candidate list as a review was not necessary nor questioned by ROS.

Loke reiterated that the main difference with this election, to be held at Hotel One World, Bandar Utama in Selangor, would be that an independent auditor would follow the whole process, starting today when letters are being sent out.

“We have admitted our past mistakes in the last congress but ROS still penalised us. We want to show our commitment that we have nothing to hide,” Loke said.