DAP's efforts to field more Malay candidates does not change the fact that it is a Chinese-based party, noted Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

Using the example of BN, Salleh said Umno could field Christian candidates and PAS may field Hindus as well, but this does not change the fact that they are Malay parties.

"In that same context, just because DAP fields a few Malay candidates in the next general election, that too, does not take away the fact that DAP is a Chinese party.

"DAP claims it is a multi-racial party but then it is a Chinese-based multi-racial party. Whether it can legitimately claim to be a true Malaysian party is a matter that is still open for discussion, because of the lack of a strong presence of Malays in the party," he said in a blog posting today.

If DAP truly wanted to shed its Chinese image, it has to do more than just field Malay candidates, he stressed.

"The makeup of its leadership - plus its support base - needs to reflect its claims. Malaysia is demographically 60 percent Bumiputera, with about 50 percent or so Malays.

"So unless the support base of any party reflects this, it cannot yet claim to be a party for all Malaysians," Salleh added.

Apart from DAP's plan to field more Malays, its leadership is also targeting to increase its Bumiputera membership to 50 percent.

However, DAP's Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming had admitted that the party was facing inertia from older party members over this plan.

Salleh acknowledged that the parties within BN, too, faced issues about being a race-based party, which was precisely why the Alliance - and subsequently BN - had been created.

"That was why the late former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein, formed BN more than 40 years ago. Other than Umno, we had MCA, which is a Chinese party, and MIC, which is an Indian party.

"And then we had Gerakan, People's Progressive Party (PPP), and others, which are multi-racial parties - although they were Chinese- or Indian-based, respectively.

"And to be able to come out with a true non-race-based Malaysian party, it was necessary to form a new multi-racial coalition. And that is what BN is," he pointed out.

As such, Salleh said, Umno - just like MCA and MIC - do not disclaim that they are race-based parties.

"But for Umno, MCA and MIC to agree to form a coalition party with about 10 other parties, demonstrates that what used to be called ‘the Alliance’ wanted to give birth to a party or coalition that is non-racial in nature," he reasoned.