Liew Chin Tong on the departure of Dr P Ramasamy from the DAP

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Received via WhatsApp.

Liew Chin Tong_2023Aug11@11:45am

It is with regret and sadness that the departure of Dr P. Ramasamy from the DAP is accompanied with unnecessarily harsh and baseless allegations against the DAP and its Secretary-General Sdr Anthony Loke.

Ramasamy retired from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in May 2005, and was supposed to be on a two-year contract but was terminated in August 2005. He joined the DAP on 8 September 2005 at a ceremony, of which I was present, at the old DAP Headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

“By joining DAP, I hope to work in solidarity with its leaders, members and supporters to provide a futuristic democratic, egalitarian and progressive vision of Malaysian society that would be free from ethnic, religious and class oppression,” Ramasamy said at the time of joining.

On 12 February 2008, a day before the Parliament was dissolved, Ramasamy, Jeff Ooi and myself were officially announced as DAP candidates for Penang. We were slated to contest against Barisan Nasional big guns in Batu Kawan, Jelutong and Bukit Bendera, respectively.

As Batu Kawan was contested by then outgoing Chief Minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, the late Sdr Karpal Singh insisted on Ramasamy being fielded as a state candidate for Perai, to ensure he would have a decent chance of being elected even if he didn’t win Batu Kawan. The intervention caused unhappiness among potential candidates who had prepared for Perai.

When the political tsunami took place on 8 March 2008, the new Chief Minister Sdr Lim Guan Eng broke with convention by appointing Ramasamy as the Second Deputy Chief Minister.

The idea was to give him prominence that he would assist the party in being more inclusive. While DAP has always been a multiracial party, more needed to be done.

However, Ramasamy didn’t help much in that direction. He lost in all DAP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2022. He also failed in the Penang State Committee elections in 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2021. He was rejected by delegates representing grassroot members.

Yet DAP continued to have faith in him to bring about positive changes. Alas, it was a false hope. It was Karpal who mentored Ramasamy in 2008 but when he didn’t get what he wanted, in 2011, Ramasamy used the harshest words against Karpal in a public feud which rarely happened in DAP.

Being the real party for all, DAP leadership believed Ramasamy still had something to contribute despite his attitude. His antics were tolerated, and he continued to hold high positions in the state government and the party.

It is regrettable that Ramasamy quit the party just days before the most consequential state elections in Malaysia, in the hope to cause dissatisfaction among DAP supporters

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Saya kesal dan kecewa dengan tindakan Dr P. Ramasamy yang telah keluar DAP dengan kata-kata yang kasar serta tuduhan liar terhadap DAP dan Setiausaha Agungnya Sdr Anthony Loke.

Sdr Ramasamy telah bersara daripada Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) pada Mei 2005, dan sepatutnya meneruskan kontrak mengajar selama dua tahun tetapi ia telah ditamatkan pada Ogos 2005. Beliau segera menyertai DAP pada September 2005 dalam satu majlis di ibu pejabat lama DAP di Petaling Jaya yang turut saya hadiri.

Sewaktu menyertai DAP, Sdr Ramasamy berkata: “Dengan menyertai DAP, saya berharap untuk bekerjasama dengan semua pemimpin, ahli dan penyokong parti bagi memperjuangkan usaha membentuk masyarakat Malaysia yang demokratik, egalitarian dan progresif, yang bebas daripada tekanan kaum, agama dan kelas.”

Pada 12 Februari 2008, sehari sebelum Parlimen dibubarkan, Ramasamy, Jeff Ooi dan saya, telah diumumkan secara rasmi untuk menjadi calon DAP di Pulau Pinang. Kami bertanding melawan pimpinan utama Barisan Nasional, masing-masing di kerusi Parlimen Batu Kawan, Jelutong dan Bukit Bendera.

Oleh kerana kerusi Batu Kawan ditandingi Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, mantan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, timbul kebimbangan sama ada Ramasamy mampu menang. Mendiang Karpal Singh mahu Ramasamy turut diberi kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Perai sebagai jaminan untuk menang, kalau-kalau beliau tewas di kerusi Parlimen. Layanan istimewa yang diberikan kepada Ramasamy menyebabkan beberapa bakal calon serta penyokong mereka di Perai marah terhadap parti.

Selepas tsunami politik pada 8 Mac 2008 memberi kemenangan kepada DAP di Pulau Pinang, Ketua Menteri yang baharu, Sdr Lim Guan Eng, mengubah peraturan lama dengan melantik Sdr Ramasamy menjadi Timbalan Ketua Menteri Kedua.

Kedudukan tinggi diberikan kepadanya dengan hasrat agar beliau dapat membantu DAP untuk menjadikan parti lebih inklusif. Walaupun DAP sejak asalnya memang parti pelbagai kaum, usaha perlu dipertingkatlan lagi.

Namun, Ramasamy gagal berbuat demikian. Dalam pemilihan parti, beliau kalah dalam pertandingan untuk Jawatankuasa Tertinggi Parti (CEC) DAP pada 2012, 2013, 2017 dan 2022. Jelas bahawa para wakil yang merupakan suara akar umbi parti telah menolaknya dengan tegas.

Namun, pimpinan DAP masih berharap Sdr Ramasamy mampu membawa perubahan positif. Sayangnya, ia hanya harapan palsu. Tidak salah jika dikatakan mendiang Karpal banyak berjasa dalam membantu karier politik Sdr Ramasamy, bermula pada 2008 dengan memberinya peluang bertanding kerusi DUN dan Parlimen. Namun, apabila dia tidak mendapat apa yang dia mahukan, pada 2011, dia memaki hamun mendiang Karpal. Kata-kata kesatnya diketahui umum, dan ini amat jarang berlaku dalam DAP.

Dalam keadaan itupun, DAP sebagai “parti untuk semua” tetap yakin Ramasamy masih dapat memberi sumbangan kepada masyarakat walaupun dengan sikapnya itu. Pimpinan DAP masih bertolak ansur dengannya, dan beliau tetap diberi kedudukan tinggi dalam parti dan Kerajaan Negeri.

Adalah amat dikesali Sdr Ramasamy telah keluar parti beberapa hari menjelang hari mengundi dalam pilihan raya negeri yang amat penting untuk masa depan negeri dan negara. Beliau sengaja mahu memecahbelahkan perpaduan ahli-ahli akar umbi serta para penyokong DAP.


It is with regret and sadness that the departure of Dr P. Ramasamy from the DAP is accompanied with unnecessarily harsh and baseless allegations against the DAP and its Secretary-General Sdr Anthony Loke.

Ramasamy retired from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in May 2005, and was supposed to be on a two-year contract but was terminated in August 2005. He joined the DAP on 8 September 2005 at a ceremony, of which I was present, at the old DAP Headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

“By joining DAP, I hope to work in solidarity with its leaders, members and supporters to provide a futuristic democratic, egalitarian and progressive vision of Malaysian society that would be free from ethnic, religious and class oppression,” Ramasamy said at the time of joining.

On 12 February 2008, a day before the Parliament was dissolved, Ramasamy, Jeff Ooi and myself were officially announced as DAP candidates for Penang. We were slated to contest against Barisan Nasional big guns in Batu Kawan, Jelutong and Bukit Bendera, respectively.

As Batu Kawan was contested by then outgoing Chief Minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, the late Sdr Karpal Singh insisted on Ramasamy being fielded as a state candidate for Perai, to ensure he would have a decent chance of being elected even if he didn’t win Batu Kawan. The intervention caused unhappiness among potential candidates who had prepared for Perai.

When the political tsunami took place on 8 March 2008, the new Chief Minister Sdr Lim Guan Eng broke with convention by appointing Ramasamy as the Second Deputy Chief Minister.

The idea was to give him prominence that he would assist the party in being more inclusive. While DAP has always been a multiracial party, more needed to be done.

However, Ramasamy didn’t help much in that direction. He lost in all DAP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2022. He was rejected by delegates representing grassroot members.

Yet DAP continued to have faith in him to bring about positive changes. Alas, it was a false hope. It was Karpal who mentored Ramasamy in 2008 but when he didn’t get what he wanted, in 2011, Ramasamy used the harshest words against Karpal in a public feud which rarely happened in DAP.

Being the real party for all, DAP leadership believed Ramasamy still had something to contribute despite his attitude. His antics were tolerated, and he continued to hold high positions in the state government and the party.

It is regrettable that Ramasamy quit the party just days before the most consequential state elections in Malaysia, in the hope to cause dissatisfaction among DAP supporters.

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