Bukit Tambun DAP chief Teoh Seang Hooi said Pakatan Harapan had already experienced a wake-up call in 2023, after its unity alliance with Barisan Nasional won only 29 seats at the state election, down from the 37 won by PH in 2018.
He said that while Chinese voters in the state have not abandoned the party, they remain concerned about unresolved issues such as justice for the late political aide Teoh Beng Hock and recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).
“Go and look at the strong comments on Facebook, where netizens are asking when DAP is going to talk to our Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about recognising the UEC examination which Sabah and Sarawak recognised long ago,” he told FMT.
Teoh acknowledged the political balancing act faced by both DAP’s central leadership and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“If he (Anwar) were to announce that (the government) recognises UEC, then the Malay voters will fire back, as will opposition parties like Perikatan Nasional.
“But at the same time, I think we’d better do something before what happened in Sabah happens in West Malaysia too,” he said.
He expressed confidence in Penang DAP chief Steven Sim’s ability to drive reforms but stressed that change requires the collective effort of the state leadership committee.
At the grassroots level, Teoh, who also serves as treasurer of the Batu Kawan DAP parliamentary liaison committee, said the committee will table a resolution at its biennial election this Sunday to urge Penang PH to form a special task force ahead of the next general election.
“Prepare to go to the ground to understand the attitude of voters towards DAP — not only the Chinese and Indians, but also the Malays.”
Penang DAP organising secretary Phee Boon Chee said the Sabah defeat has raised concerns of a “spillover effect” in the peninsula, prompting the need for damage control.
He claimed that the party’s detractors have been deliberately spreading the narrative that DAP is losing its core support, which some voters are starting to believe.
“The silent majority is yet to speak up, and they will do so at the ballot boxes. That’s the worrying part,” he told FMT.
A senior DAP member, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that some leaders, particularly the party’s Indian representatives, have lost touch with grassroots voters, and were relying too heavily on Chinese support instead of cultivating long-term Indian voter loyalty.
“These leaders should be working on creating a team of people who are genuine about building an Indian support base, and then start strategies to get Indians to retain the Indian community’s support,” the source told FMT.
DAP currently dominates Penang, having been in power since 2008, and plays a key role in the state governments of Selangor and Perak, where it wields significant influence.
However, its presence is limited in other states. In Johor, the party holds 12 seats but is not part of the state government, while in Melaka and Sarawak, its influence remains minimal.
The party saw all its eight candidates defeated in the Sabah state election, losing six former stronghold seats and ending up without representation in the state assembly.
At federal level, DAP holds 40 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, making it the second-largest party after opposition PAS, which has 43 seats.