Loke on Ramasamy: 'Thank you allies but we'll handle it our way'

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke today thanked the party's allies over their calls for action to be taken against Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy's recent statement - where the latter urged the prime minister to “break the Malays' monopoly” in the civil service.

However, Loke (above) said DAP has its own way of handling issues and hinted Ramasamy would be dealt with through the party’s internal channel - using their own approaches.

Speaking at a presser in Kuala Lumpur, Loke, who is also the transport minister, reminded DAP leaders they are now part of the government and creating any polemic in the country is counterproductive.

"Whatever views are made by our friends (allies), I thank them. But DAP has our own ways of dealing with our internal issues," he said when asked to comment about Ramasamy, who has been criticised by other Pakatan Harapan component party leaders.

"We have our ways of doing things at our party. We will deal with any issues using DAP's own channels and approaches," Loke stressed when pressed whether DAP would take action against the Penang DAP deputy chairperson.

The minister was speaking to reporters after launching the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory DAP Convention 2022, held at the party headquarters along Jalan Pudu this morning.

In a speech during the event’s launch, Loke told party delegates DAP is now part of the government and they all must adapt to being a ruling party.

This includes having a change of mindset from being the opposition, something which DAP has gotten used to for several decades.

"Today we can no longer act as an opposition party because we are a government party. We are the ruling party not only at the federal level but also in many states.

"So we must have a paradigm shift as a ruling party. Because as a government, our role is to manage the country and solve problems, not only to raise issues," he said.

‘Being counterproductive’

Elaborating on this, Loke said there is no point for DAP’s leaders and members to create controversy.

"The role of the government is to solve problems, not only to raise problems.

"To me, if there is any leader who creates polemics in our society, especially having understood the country's political environment, they are being counterproductive," he said.

Several days ago, Ramasamy said on Facebook that the civil service is ossified and is in need of reforms.

He stressed that the old argument in favour of Malay domination of the civil service to counterbalance the Chinese domination of the economy is no longer valid.

The statement courted flak against both Ramasamy and DAP from both sides of the political divide. Ramasamy has since distanced the party from his remarks, saying they were his own personal view.

Those attacking DAP leader have included Penang PKR Youth information chief Abshar Nurasyra and Amanah central committee member Mohd Sany Hamzan, who both urged the state government and DAP to sack Ramasamy.

Bersatu vice-president Radzi Jidin in a statement today lambasted Ramasamy, saying the statement was an insult to the Malays and civil service.

He also linked the DAP leader's remarks to the party, claiming that DAP was "well known to be allergic to whatever that is dominated by the Malays."

"So when DAP controlled the government, of course, such an effort to break the domination would be their main focus.

"Such a racist call if not put to a stop would destroy our country's future," Radzi said.

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