In justifying why his father Lim Kit Siang is not in Pakatan Harapan's top leadership line-up, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said today that the party works through a collective leadership even in the absence of its top leaders, such as himself.

For example, Lim said, he and Kit Siang, were not present at the meeting to announce the Harapan leadership line-up on July 14, but the party's acting chairperson Tan Kok Wai attended the event.

Lim, who is also Penang chief minister, was in the United States at that time.

“But at the meeting, the DAP was represented by several leaders,” he said when asked why Kit Siang, the party’s senior leader and Gelang Patah MP, was absent from the Harapan power structure, which took months to negotiate and materialise.

“The unique thing about DAP is that when our representative attends the meeting, whoever it is, whether it is myself or not, he or she has the mandate of the party to make certain decisions,” said Lim, who is also Bagan MP.

“Because we in the DAP work on a collective leadership. Before the meeting, we would have discussed and decided on what measures to take,” he added.

Harapan announced its logo and leadership structure on July 14, which saw jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim named as the de facto leader, while his former nemesis turned supporter, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is the coalition's chairperson.

'DAP representative speaks for the party'

Lim then went on to further clarify the matter, saying that when a DAP representative speaks at a Harapan meeting, he or she speaks for the party as the position has been entrusted to the leaders who represent the party.

“So you do not need the secretary-general or Kit Siang to be there to make decisions. Our representatives are there to do it,” he said.

By saying this, Lim dismissed speculation that Kit Siang was sidelined from the Harapan leadership or kept away from the line-up due to fears of a backlash from the Malay community.

The veteran leader, who has served the DAP since its inception 50 years ago and was previously detained under the Internal Security Act, has often been demonised by his opponents as anti-Malay and anti-Muslim, despite his repeated denials and efforts to prove himself as a loyal Malaysian.

Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu’s president, has also explained Kit Siang’s absence from the line-up.

The former deputy prime minister said the line-up was based on names submitted by each component party, all of which were unanimously accepted.

“It is not like if a party proposes a certain name, we would reject it. All the proposals that came from each party were accepted 100 percent,” Muhyiddin had said when asked to explain the matter.

On the same note, Lim was asked if he was happy and satisfied with Harapan’s leadership structure, to which he replied: “Of course. We all decided on it, based on consensus within the coalition.”