{"id":1804,"date":"2026-08-04T10:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asianewscast.com\/?p=1804"},"modified":"2026-08-04T10:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:00:09","slug":"malaysias-dap-to-hold-vote-on-whether-to-remain-in-anwars-unity-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asianewscast.com\/?p=1804","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia\u2019s DAP to Hold Vote on Whether to Remain in Anwar\u2019s \u2018Unity\u2019 Government"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Malaysia&#8217;s<\/div>
\n

Anthony Loke, the secretary-general of Malaysia\u2019s Democratic Action Party (DAP), attends a state election campaign event in Yong Peng, Johor State, Malaysia, July 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Credit: Facebook\/Anthony Loke Siew Fook<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Malaysia\u2019s Democratic Action Party (DAP) will soon decide whether to remain in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim\u2019s \u201cunity\u201d government, after performing poorly in a string of state elections.<\/p>\n

The DAP, which is currently the largest party in Anwar\u2019s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, holding 40 of its 77 seats in the federal parliament, has been hemorrhaging support due to the government\u2019s perceived mishandling of corruption cases and concerns over its commitment to promised reforms.<\/p>\n

In a press conference today, the DAP\u2019s Secretary-General Anthony Loke said that the party\u2019s central executive committee (CEC) had decided to convene a special national congress on August 16, at which it would table a motion on whether the party should remain a part of Anwar\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

He said that about 4,000 DAP delegates would be given the right to decide the party\u2019s position. \u201cThe decision will be made by the delegates, not the CEC. We will leave it to their wisdom,\u201d Loke said, as per local media<\/a>. DAP currently has five ministers and \u200bseven deputy ministers \u200bin Anwar\u2019s cabinet.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes after PH was trounced in a state election<\/a> in Negeri Sembilan on Saturday, when the coalition won just 11<\/a> of the 36 seats in the legislative assembly, down from 17 previously. The election was won by an alliance of Barisan Nasional (BN), PH\u2019s partner at the federal level, and the pan-Malay Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, which collectively won 25 seats. Loke, who currently serves as minister of transport, lost his seat in the state legislative assembly, a position he had held for 13 years, prompting him to resign his post<\/a> as the DAP\u2019s chairman for Negeri Sembilan.<\/p>\n

This follows similar losses that Anwar\u2019s coalition suffered in Johor<\/a> last month and Sabah<\/a> in November. While the DAP did not perform terribly in Negeri Sembilan \u2013 the party won nine of the 11 seats<\/a> that it contested \u2013 it suffered more grievous setbacks in Johor and Sabah, as its predominantly urban Chinese voter base abstained or switched to other parties.<\/p>\n

The DAP, which has traditionally been associated with Malaysia\u2019s ethnic Chinese minority but also attracts liberal and reformist voters of all races, has been impacted by the growing disillusionment with Anwar and PH. This crested last year following a string of corruption scandals, including reports<\/a> of widespread misconduct<\/a> at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. These have tarnished Anwar\u2019s anti-corruption credentials and stirred up discontent among progressive supporters who since 2022 have grown frustrated with the slow implementation of promised reforms.<\/p>\n

In March, DAP announced<\/a> that it \u200bwould \u201cevaluate its position\u201d in the governing coalition for the next general election, due to its disappointment with the government\u2019s approach to corruption and the difficulty of being forced to defend the compromises made by PH after striking an unlikely alliance with BN after the general election of 2022.<\/p>\n

In any event, the result in Negeri Sembilan has raised questions about the future of the DAP, with some Malaysian analysts suggesting<\/a> that Loke, who has generally been known as a pragmatist who is willing to play the coalition game, could be challenged or eclipsed by more assertive reformists within the party.<\/p>\n

DAP national Chairman Gobind Singh Deo said on Sunday that the party accepted the result in Negeri Sembilan \u201cwith full humility,\u201d the South China Morning Post reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message from the electorate is clear,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must and will undertake a thorough assessment of the outcome, listen carefully to the concerns of the people, and work hard to regain their confidence and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the DAP says that it will continue to support PH, its defection would obviously further complicate Anwar\u2019s political position, which is under threat from an incipient pan-Malay pact between BN and PN. As I noted yesterday<\/a>, Saturday\u2019s election in Negeri Sembilan witnessed close cooperation between the two coalitions, particularly between two of their largest respective constituent parties, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and the Islamist PAS.<\/p>\n

If it holds and coheres, this alliance could prove decisive at the next general election, which must be held by early 2028, but could be called earlier. Anwar has previously said<\/a> that he may call a snap election if the tensions between PH and BN, which remain federal partners even as they engage in bruising contests at the state level, becomes too difficult to manage.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anthony Loke, the secretary-general of Malaysia\u2019s Democratic Action Party (DAP), attends a state election campaign event in Yong Peng, Johor State, Malaysia, July 3, 2026. Credit: Facebook\/Anthony Loke Siew Fook Malaysia\u2019s Democratic Action Party (DAP) will soon decide whether to remain in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim\u2019s \u201cunity\u201d government, after performing poorly in a string of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMalaysia\u2019s DAP to Hold Vote on Whether to Remain in Anwar\u2019s \u2018Unity\u2019 Government - Asia Newscast<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.asianewscast.com\/?p=1804\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Malaysia\u2019s DAP to Hold Vote on Whether to Remain in Anwar\u2019s \u2018Unity\u2019 Government - Asia Newscast\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anthony Loke, the secretary-general of Malaysia\u2019s Democratic Action Party (DAP), attends a state election campaign event in Yong Peng, Johor State, Malaysia, July 3, 2026. 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