From the comments so far, there seems to be a conflation between methods of running a party, and that of running the country. Isn’t there a substantial difference?

You sound like you are a Leninist….

You got to have this enlightened small group of core cadres to lead the ignorant and decadent middle class masses to achieve revolutionary purity…

Let me see… PAP the Singapore big brother is a Leninist too…. well a Sinicized Leninist in with an entrenched oligarchy secure in power…

Dude, that will only work if the oligarch or tyrant have Lee Kuan Yew’s characteristics…

Remember… Mao led China to a disaster in the 60s and early 70s… remember: the Cultural revolution….

I think that’s the realistic view of any democracy. We shouldn’t be blinded by happy-meals meted out by proponents of liberal democracy and lose sight of that fact, I think.

Which therefore demands that DAP and other opposition parties play to win votes; all those funny declarations of doing this and that are moot if they aren’t even in parliament, man!

Ahh. The dirty game we call Politics. The question is, how dirty can they be?

My question still stands, however: why, despite a burgeoning middle-class in Malaysia over the past 20 years, did we have a 92% majority for BN in parliament?

My position is that the people have never had a proper alternative. One look at Barisan Alternatif and you see the splits and cracks within the coalition. It is this fractious state of affairs that scares voters away: not only do not have any faith in an untested BA (an argument from ignorance, surely) but on the face of it, there doesn’t seem to be a strong, dedicated coalition to bolster confidence.

The same follows for DAP, in my opinion. It’s a matter of control, isn’t it? It’s been a common complaint that LKS has wielded - and is wielding - too much power within the party, but consider the alternatives: take away the personalities and fill positions with technocrats, or worse, bureaucrats. Will this win votes?

In my opinion, it will not. And isn’t that the name of the game, to win votes? In such a besieged climate, I believe communal hugs and backslaps won’t amount to much; we need strong, concerted and concentrated leadership to carry the day. That, I think, is the bigger picture.

But let’s not get too carried away here on the Lim Guan Eng and his wife issue here. They just lost their Malacca committe places, which is basically a state matter, which is understandable. You can’t expect everyone to be a LGE supporter. Every party have their factions.

However, federal level DAP is still very united under LKS and Karpal Singh, exactly to your preference. However, is this actually a good thing? I am a big admirer of what DAP has done for our society, but I must agree with others that currently its a lethargic party. LKS has helmed the party for too long now. He should go now, and make way for new, young and dynamic leaders with a different vision for the party.

But thanks to that very same tyranny (or tenacious, if you like) that LKS and his senior advisers practice in culling many new talents who is seen as a treat to their positions, DAP has been seriously deprived of new talent.

So is a strictly controlled leadership-changing process really that desirable? I disagree with these designated ascensions, in favour of a free, all out internal party elections.

We don’t seem to be living in Australia, we’re living in the real world, viz. Malaysia; if you trust the people to be “educated middle-class voters”, then you’ll have to explain the spectre of that 92% majority in parliament BN’s enjoying.

If anything, it appears Dr. Mahathir’s tyranny is what the people want! So wherefore our “democratic” aspirations? Might as well be honest and do away with them, yes?

So yes, you can have it both ways, basically, because there being “two ways” is an entrenched delusion. Democratic aspirations, of whatever party, is a basic smokescreen for the people; if either of the two DAP stalwarts want to maintain the momentum they’ve gained over the past few weeks, they should dispense with silly ideas like running a party like a glorified committee.

Yes, make noise about this issue or that issue, but if you’re going to let party internal struggles become a reason for the people to lose faith in you, then I’d say don’t even bother making noise.

If you see this as hypocrisy, then I’d have to say that view is naive.

So it seems the saying “One can’t please everybody” rings true here. On one hand, many Malaysians constantly criticises BN for their “One Man Rule” and silencing of dissent style, and yet when DAP shows some ‘democracy’ in their leadership struggles, the same people (am I wrong to put you in the same category) turns around and starts accusing them of not being united! Laughable!

Dude, you can’t have it both ways. Vibrant internal party power struggles are healthy, in kept in check. Democratic tussles for the leadership in Australian parties such as in the Labor Party (Keating practically kicked the PM out during his term) and the Liberal Party (numerous changes in its leadership before settling on John Howard) doesn’t seem to be detrimental to those parties in the long run.

So don’t be a hypocrite and stick to what you believe in. If it’s democracy you want, DAP is showing it now.