They say the party’s English-educated leaders don’t see eye to eye with their Chinese-educated colleagues.

Kenneth Cheng of Agora Society, a loose network of intellectuals, told FMT the division had in fact become apparent soon after Pakatan Harapan fell from power. He said one of the disagreements was over how to get back into power.

A news report yesterday quoted DAP central committee member Ronnie Liu as saying the party should not degrade itself just to gain Malay support and did not have to “dilute its Chineseness” just because of criticism from political enemies.

Two prominent DAP members – MPs Hannah Yeoh and Tony Pua – denounced Liu for his remarks.

Cheng said the ones favouring cooperation with Malay parties were from the English-educated camp and those against the idea appealed to Chinese traditionalists.

He said the party’s grassroots might be divided equally over working with Malay-based parties for the next general election.

Umno Supreme Council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman recently told FMT there was a possibility Umno would work with DAP in the future to ensure stability, provided the latter adopted a “more moderate” approach.

Oh Ei Sun, a fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, agreed that the fight was between English-educated and Chinese-educated leaders.

“It’s no secret that over the years confrontations have been developing between the English-educated and Chinese-educated factions in DAP,” he told FMT.

With party elections taking place this year, he said, the public spat was likely to continue.

Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya told FMT that DAP’s longtime supporters leaned towards the conservative views of leaders such as Liu.

However, he also said more moderate individuals had been joining the party’s ranks lately, with the younger generation pushing for the party to be more inclusive.

“If DAP leans towards Liu’s faction, it will be difficult for it to grow and become a multiracial party when the support and population of the Chinese is already at its peak,” he said.

“It won’t be able to add more seats without the involvement of the Malays, Indians, Dayaks and Kadazan.”

DAP was formed in October 1965 by mostly former Malaysian PAP members after Singapore left Malaysia and became a sovereign nation.

In recent years, the party has made efforts to put on a multi-ethnic face, with more Malay leaders at its forefront.