{"id":10303,"date":"2014-09-19T12:19:46","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T04:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/?p=10303"},"modified":"2014-09-19T12:19:46","modified_gmt":"2014-09-19T04:19:46","slug":"entering-daps-second-phase-with-semi-urban-constituencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/entering-daps-second-phase-with-semi-urban-constituencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Entering DAP\u2019s second phase with semi-urban constituencies"},"content":{"rendered":"

By DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WIRA8560\"<\/a>I thank the DAP Policy Forum, an informal grouping of elected reps who are interested in policy matters, for organising the DAP Semi-urban Caucus meeting. DAP Policy Forum is a reflection of DAP\u2019s maturity with more and more elected reps and party leaders getting involved in working out the policy alternatives of a different Malaysia under a new government. It is also a manifestation that DAP understands the expectations of the Malaysian voting public who wants more from their political leaders.<\/p>\n

Semi-urban constituencies are indeed a new experience for the DAP. In many ways, it is an advent of a second phase for the DAP.<\/p>\n

Previously, DAP was mostly confined to urban constituencies with high concentration of working class non-Malay voters. It is not that the DAP did not attempt to represent semi-urban constituencies but the previously prevailing circumstances worked against such efforts.<\/p>\n

But since the political tsunami in 2008 and followed by the last election in May 2013, DAP made substantial gains in multi-ethnic semi-urban constituencies, both at the parliamentary and at the state levels.<\/p>\n

Generally, semi-urban constituencies have the following characteristics:<\/p>\n

*<\/span>Agriculture, fishery and plantation based;<\/p>\n

*<\/span>and if it is ever industrialised, it is mostly low-end manufacturing with substantial number of foreign unskilled labour as workers;<\/p>\n

*<\/span>multi-ethnic;<\/p>\n

*<\/span>older demographic profile as young people work and live in urban centres (but may still vote in the semi-urban constituencies).<\/p>\n

In the 2013 election, many near-misses of seats come from semi-urban constituencies. On the peninsula, had the Pakatan Rakyat succeeded in the following clusters of seats, Barisan National would have sat on the opposition bench now, namely,<\/p>\n

*<\/span>Southern Kedah \/ Northern Penang belt e.g. Kulim Bandar Baru and Kepala Batas<\/p>\n

*<\/span>Southern Perak\/Northern Selangor belt e.g. Tanjung Malim and Sabak Bernam<\/p>\n

*<\/span>Northern Johor belt e.g. Segamat and Sekijang<\/p>\n

*<\/span>West Pahang belt e.g. Bentong<\/p>\n

For the DAP which was formerly concentrating in urban areas, understand and imagining a new future for agriculture, fishery and plantation are now an urgent task for this effort to propel a second phase of growth for DAP.<\/p>\n

It is also important to note that UMNO survives on fanning anxieties and fears among Malays and Bumiputra in the semi-urban constituencies. It is here that the DAP must represent hopes against fears, to offer new political and economic dreams for all and to reassure Malays and Bumiputra voters that a new Malaysia is one that is only against the cronies and not the Malays and Bumiputra.<\/p>\n

Malaysia is a rich country for all to live a decent living and only with a new future outside UMNO\u2019s race-based politics that we can have a new Malaysia.<\/p>\n

Representing semi-urban constituencies also requires us to rethink our position on meritocracy. We are confronted with very serious and widespread poverty which requires us to complement meritocracy with solidarity, which is a social democratic value anyway.<\/p>\n

We must be able to articulate the aspirations of semi-urban constituencies so that we provide Malaysians a future that is beyond UMNO-Barisan Nasional.<\/p>\n

In GE2013, Pakatan dominated the urban seats by winning 46 out of 53 (87%). We came close to winning almost half of the semi-urban seats (33 out of 69 or 48%). We only managed to win 10% of rural seats. (Table 1 below)<\/p>\n

Table 1: Number of Urban, Semi-Urban and Rural Seats won by BN and PR in GE2013<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n

BN<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

PR<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

TOTAL<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

BN%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

PR%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

URBAN<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

7<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

46<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

53<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

13%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

87%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

SEMI-URBAN<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

36<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

33<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

69<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

52%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

48%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

RURAL<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

90<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

100<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

90%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

TOTAL<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

133<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

89<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

222<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

60%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

40%<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

If Pakatan is to win Putrajaya in GE14, we must set the target of 90\/70\/20 or winning 90% of urban, 70% of semi-urban and 20% of rural seats. This means that Pakatan has to win an additional 2 urban, 16 semi-urban and 10 rural seats in order to win 116 or 52% of parliament seats, assuming the number of seats stay the same. (Table 2 below)<\/p>\n

Table 2: 90% Urban, 70% Semi-Urban and 20% Rural target for GE14<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Target<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

# Seats (Target)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

# Seats (Current)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Difference<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

90% Urban<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

48<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

46<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

70% Semi-Urban<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

48<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

32*<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

16<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

20% Rural<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

20<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

TOTAL<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

116<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

88*<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

27<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

(*) After losing the Teluk Intan by-election<\/p>\n

For the DAP, this means winning semi-urban seats such as Bentong, Cameron Highlands, Alor Gajah, Labis and Tanjong Piai in Peninsular Malaysia, Bintulu in Sarawak and Sepanggar and Putatan in Sabah.<\/p>\n

The semi-urban constituencies hold the keys to unlocking the way to Putrajaya. I wish the participants of the Semi-Urban Caucus in the DAP Policy Forum all the success as they brainstorm and plan new ideas in order for DAP and Pakatan to make further headway in the semi-urban constituencies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang I thank the DAP Policy Forum, an informal grouping of elected reps who are interested in policy matters, for organising the DAP Semi-urban Caucus meeting. DAP Policy Forum is a reflection of DAP\u2019s maturity with more and more elected reps and party leaders getting involved in working out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[260],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10303"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10306,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10303\/revisions\/10306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}