GE14 | Malacca has never had a significant opposition, but yet the state has symbolic meanings for the DAP.

The party had been the sole opposition in Malacca since independence until 2013, when PKR and PAS finally made some inroads.

The state was also where DAP's Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng began their political careers.

Kit Siang’s debut in Parliament came after he won in the newly-created Kota Melaka parliamentary seat in 1969 and this seat has remained a DAP stronghold, except in 2004, when then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi led BN to its largest victory in history.

It therefore came as a shock when DAP's control of six out of the 28 seats in the Malacca state assembly was suddenly halved in February last year. The remaining opposition state seat is held by PAS, in Bukit Baru.

In a surprise move, Duyong assemblyperson Goh Leong San, Bachang assemblyperson Lim Jak Wong and Kesidang assemblyperson Chin Choong Seong announced their resignation from DAP.

They were also joined by Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him (photo). All of them were party veterans.

More than a year later, Malacca DAP is racing against the clock to get the party on the path of recovery in Malacca, ahead of the 14th general election.

‘Gang of Four’

The immediate priority then, said Malacca DAP secretary Khoo Poay Tiong, was to fill the void in terms of DAP's services left behind following the departure of four of its elected representatives.

Khoo, who is the Ayer Keroh assemblyperson, said Malacca DAP had each of its remaining state assemblypersons to "adopt" one of the three constituencies which had turned "independent".

The other two DAP assemblypersons are Tey Kok Kiew (Bandar Hilir) and Lai Keun Ban (Kota Laksamana).

Khoo also has had to step up as the state opposition leader, which was left vacant following Goh's resignation from the party.

"Each of the three of us took on an extra constituency. We have become like a foster father for the constituencies," he told Malaysiakini.

Khoo admitted that this meant their workload had doubled but everyone had to pull their weight in such times.

He conceded that the resignations of the four DAP elected representatives have also left some voters disappointed, but he believes the efforts being taken by him and his colleagues can help restore confidence in the party.

The DAP central leadership has also stepped in, forming a special committee consisting of the party's deputy secretary-general Teresa Kok, national organising secretary Anthony Loke and political education director Liew Chin Tong to assist its Malacca chapter.

Kit Siang and Guan Eng also visited Malacca shortly after DAP was hit by the resignations, apologising to the voters there.

Decades-long rivalry

The resignations were a boil over after more than a decade of rivalry.

Goh and his allies were ousted from the leadership in the 2015 state DAP election, a déjà vu from 10 years prior when the same faction ousted Guan Eng and his wife Betty Chew from the state leadership.

The faction had blamed Guan Eng for the defeat of then DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock in Kota Melaka during the 2004 general election.

While Guan Eng's political career survived the ouster and rose through the ranks in the central leadership, the bad blood persisted.

Malacca DAP under Goh's leadership became increasingly intolerant of what it perceives as central interference.

Kota Melaka's Sim had in the 2013 election even contested as an independent in the state seat of Kota Laksamana after accusing the central leadership of interference by installing their favoured candidate there.

That crisis was averted after Kit Siang talked Sim out of it.

Goh's allies had also accused the central leadership of installing pliant leaders when they were ousted in the 2015 state party election.

It all boiled over in February 2017 when the four finally resigned from the DAP.

Guan Eng, during Kerk's wake ceremony last year, took aim at Sim without naming him by praising Kerk's role as Kota Melaka MP since 1999 and contrasted him with a leader who "ran away with the seat".

Kit Siang has been more diplomatic and played peacemaker by publicly calling on the elected representatives who quit DAP to return to the party's fold.

However, for Sim, there is no turning back.

"I do not simply make decisions emotionally or out of the blue. I normally think things through thoroughly before making any decisions," Sim told Malaysiakini.

Sim also noted that Kit Siang's appeal was done through the media and there was never any official overture.

Sim also does not rule out contesting as an independent in the next general election but stressed that he will always be an "opposition man".

"I am 'old DAP', you know. I am an opposition man," he said.

Fresh faces to replace veterans

However, DAP's Khoo believes the impact of any former DAP leaders contesting as independent will be minimal.

Khoo also dismisses any worry about going up against his former colleagues who left the party.

"All this while, the people supported us because of the party, because of the rocket logo.

"We believe the people will continue to support us,” he said.

The departure of the veterans will also be an opportunity for the DAP to field fresh faces in Malacca.

Khoo said DAP is deliberating on candidates for Malacca now and potential candidates include those who have been working as part of the special task forces formed to take care of the constituencies of their former colleagues.

Their lack of experience is a concern, he admitted, but the voters already recognise them as they have been working in the areas since last year.

“We have to admit they do not have experience compared to the four, but everybody starts from zero,” he said.

Going into the 14th general election, Malacca not only needs to mitigate the damage in its traditional stronghold but also to extend help to its Pakatan Harapan partners to make further inroads in the state.

With a new partner Bersatu, DAP hopes to be able to harness their influence with Malay voters to penetrate more rural areas and has even surrendered the parliamentary seat of Alor Gajah to Bersatu to contest.

DAP will need to placate its supporters for handing away a traditional seat that it had contested since 2004. Alor Gajah was won by MCA in 2013 with a majority of 11,597.

"We have to make sure that with Bersatu, we will have this opportunity to go into the rural areas to gain more support, and also assist other parties," Khoo said.

There are six parliamentary seats in Malacca, five of which BN has had a tight grip on since independence. The sixth is Kota Melaka.

However, the opposition, for the first time, picked up its second parliamentary seat in Malacca after PKR's Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin won in Bukit Katil in the 2013 general election.

DAP now hopes that it can assist Bersatu to enable the opposition to pick up yet another parliamentary seat - Alor Gajah.