DAP scores ‘own goal’ with Santiago and Kasthuri out

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PETALING JAYA: Should the pendulum swing the other way for DAP at the coming general election, after reaching a high point in 2018, it will be by the party’s own doing, say party sources.

There are some serious indications that the party is going through some rough patches.

It has been fighting off serious attacks by PAS leaders alleging DAP to be a party of communists out to weaken Islam and the Malays.

Now questions have been raised by reports that Charles Santiago will not be chosen to defend the Klang seat even after a stellar performance, and the decision by Kasthuri Patto not to contest the general election.

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Explain Santiago’s status in GE15, Indian groups tell Gobind

PETALING JAYA: A coalition of 12 Indian NGOs, known as i-25, has invited Selangor DAP chairman Gobind Singh Deo to a meeting to clarify claims that three-term Klang MP Charles Santiago would be dropped as a candidate in the 15th general election (GE15).

“We humbly invite Gobind and members of DAP’s state committee for a Deepavali lunch or dinner this week to explain the status of the candidate for Klang in GE15,” said the coalition’s spokesman SP Nathan during an event here.

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Don’t tarnish my integrity, Santiago tells Loke, Gobind

PETALING JAYA: Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has denied DAP had informed him that the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018 would be his last as a candidate.

Santiago claimed these narratives were made up by DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook and Selangor DAP chief Gobind Singh Deo to manage the backlash over the decision to drop him as a candidate in the upcoming polls.

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Peoples favourite Santiago dropped as Klang MP, Internal politics at its worse

INTERNAL politics in any political party or coalition is not a sight most of us welcome and to make matters worse, DAP’s decision to drop people favourite and three time Klang MP Charles Santiago has been a great disappointment to the Klang people and to make matters worse the manner in which he was dropped is now a heated topic of debate amongst the party leadership and Santiago.

Today, Santiago has made it clear by denying he was told that the 14th general election would be his last in a fiery message to the leadership stating, “Please don’t tarnish my image to manage backlash as I was never informed that 2018 would be my last term,” said Santiago on his Facebook page on Friday (Oct 28).

“There were no such arrangements and no indication about calls to replace me in 2013 or 2018 as suggested by DAP chairman Gobind Singh Deo.

“These narratives are an afterthought to mitigate the huge backlash that we are seeing, even before the official candidate list was announced,” he said.

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Spats with axed candidates can spoil DAP’s chances, say analysts

PETALING JAYA: The way two former MPs were dumped by the DAP could have a negative impact on the party’s showing in the general election, say analysts.

Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia said the discord could hit DAP’s credibility while Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara says it would have an adverse impact on voters.

They were responding to reports that former Klang MP Charles Santiago and former Bentong MP Wong Tack have disputed the party leadership’s claims over how they were consulted about being dropped as candidates for the general election.

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“Baffling decision to drop Charles Santiago and Wong Tack from seats”

IT DEFIES logic when a performing individual is, for unintelligible reasons, denied the opportunity to continue his or her exemplary performance.

Meritocracy demands that those who have excelled in their field of work ought to be recognised for their contributions and allowed to continue their service.

That philosophy, apparently, does not seem to strike a chord with the DAP leadership, at least in the glaring case of Charles Santiago, who was MP for Klang, and, by extension, Wong Tack, the outgoing MP for Bentong.

The DAP’s decision to dump these individuals and its sketchy reasons for the move ought to concern all who treasure meritocracy as a defining characteristic in the choice of candidates, whether it is Charles Santiago, Wong Tack or others.

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