Penang DAP has announced the entry of seven new members, including two formerly from PAS and one notably from Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), which is the party’s ally in Pakatan Harapan.

State DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow and Wong Hon Wai, political secretary to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, made the announcement today.

The most prominent of the eight, most of whom are Malays, is well-known former air force major Zaidi Ahmad, who had earlier jumped from PAS to Amanah, and now to the DAP.

Zaidi, who hails from Kepala Batas, Penang, shot to fame after lodging a police report against the Election Commission over the indelible ink issue, during the 13th general elections in 2013.

He was sacked from the air force by a military court in 2014, after which he joined PAS and left for Amanah last year, after losing confidence in the PAS leadership.

Now, Zaidi said he felt that the DAP was more suitable for him, adding “most importantly, I am still in Harapan”.

“If my participation in DAP can help break the anti-Malay and anti-Muslim perception against the party, eventually it will also benefit Amanah, PKR, and Harapan as a whole, “ he added.

'This is a free country'

Asked whether he has informed his party leaders, namely Amanah vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Zaidi skirted the issue.

“In this country, everyone has the right and freedom to join any party.

“Amanah leaders also did it after quitting from PAS,” he quipped

Zaidi added that nevertheless, his membership in Amanah will be terminated once he signed on with the DAP.

When contacted, Mujahid merely said “This is a free country; Amanah believes in free choice”.

During the press conference, Chow also dismissed perception that DAP is a Chinese-dominated party, arguing that as can be seen in today's event, "we have membership applications from members of other races".

"Hopefully, this will strengthen the DAP," he said.

Other than Zaidi, the new DAP members included Syed Sulaiman Shaik Abdul Kader, Mohd Sophian Mohd Zain, Noor Syawani Md Amin , Derek Tan Kean Theng and Mohd Izral Suhaimi.