{"id":4634,"date":"2013-03-21T12:15:36","date_gmt":"2013-03-21T04:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/?p=4634"},"modified":"2013-03-21T13:00:46","modified_gmt":"2013-03-21T05:00:46","slug":"momentous-dap-anniversary-bash-held-in-umnos-cradle-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/momentous-dap-anniversary-bash-held-in-umnos-cradle-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Momentous DAP anniversary bash held in UMNO’s cradle state"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"\"<\/a>JOHOR BAHRU, 20 March \u2014 The struggle lives on \u2014 47 years and counting. For the Democratic Action Party (DAP), nearly half a decade of endurance, with its fair share of challenges and obstacles, has only rendered the party stronger to continuously progress in championing a better Malaysia for all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Emotions were high at the celebration of the party\u2019s 47th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary here on 18 March, with members and supporters gathered together with party leaders, to mark DAP\u2019s birthday in the state oft-lauded as the bastion of its strongest opponent, UMNO-BN.<\/p>\n

47 years ago, such celebrations would be deemed unthinkable, but at the eve of an imminent change in the 13th<\/sup>General Election, shown through a sea of high-spirited crowd and convinced party leaders, it is now possible.<\/p>\n

Master of ceremonies Mazir Ibrahim, Kasthuri Patto and Marcus Saw put the number of attendees \u2014 seen packed to the brim at the vicinity of Skudai\u2019s Sutera Mall \u2014 from 20,000 to 40,000-strong, suggesting that the \u201cwind of change\u201d is blowing amongst the people of Johor.<\/p>\n

\n

Saluting the anticipation of the people of southern state, DAP National Chairman, Karpal Singh urged in his speech that it is a \u201cmust\u201d for Johor to dislodge UMNO and Barisan Nasional in the coming polls.<\/p>\n

\"\"Addressing the crowd as \u201ckawan-kawan (friends)\u201d, Karpal reminded that under the administration of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) those who are corrupt and have cheated the people would never escape punishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMana boleh lari (You can\u2019t run),\u201d said the party veteran described as \u2018the tiger of DAP\u2019, to loud cheers from the attendees.<\/p>\n

Political tornado<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier, DAP stalwarts took the stage, ushering in a joyous mood alongside representatives from its PR colleagues, PKR and PAS, strengthening the spirit of solidarity amongst the parties in the ruling coalition-in-waiting.<\/p>\n

Present on stage were the DAP Life Advisor, Dr Chen Man Hin; National Chairman, Karpal Singh; Parliamentary Leader, Lim Kit Siang; Deputy Chairman, Tan Kok Wai; Vice Chairman, M Kulasegaran; National Treasurer, Fong Kui Lun; National Organising Secretary, Anthony Loke Siew Fook; Secretary-General, Lim Guan Eng; Deputy Secretary-General and Women Chief, Chong Eng and National Political Education Secretary, Liew Chin Tong.<\/p>\n

Also present were Johor DAP Chairman, Dr Boo Cheng Hau, Johor DAP Director of Political Education Er Teck Hwa, and Perak DAP Deputy Chairman V Sivakumar, along other DAP leaders and elected representatives from Johor and all over the country.<\/p>\n

Joining the DAP heavyweights were PAS Deputy President, Mohamad Sabu and the Opposition Leader and PKR\u00a0de facto<\/em>\u00a0Leader, Anwar Ibrahim who later announced Lim Kit Siang\u2019s candidacy for the parliamentary constituency of Gelang Patah.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Johor’s symbolic importance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Johor-born Lim Kit Siang, who appeared with glowing confidence throughout the event, later said that the DAP\u2019s choice to celebrate its anniversary in Johor is symbolic to a \u201cpolitical tornado\u201d that will \u201cbegin in the south, heading northwards\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state of Johor is very important for Pakatan Rakyat. We want Johoreans to be the determinant for Pakatan Rakyat\u2019s success,\u201d Lim said, after stressing how crucial it was to heighten cooperation between Pakatan Rakyat parties.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mohamad Sabu complimented Penang\u2019s efficient and accountable government led by the DAP’s Lim Guan Eng, highly-crediting the Chief Minister for its success.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is the example of the government we want. Do you want this kind of government?\u201d Mohamad Sabu asked, to a roaring \u201cYes!\u201d from the crowd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Performances of Malay traditional dances \u2018zapin\u2019 and \u2018kuda kepang\u2019, ensemble of Chinese drums and Indian classical dances coloured the celebration, affirming DAP\u2019s respect towards Malaysia\u2019s rich heritage vested in its various communities. This is in line with the party\u2019s cultural policies outlined together with PKR and PAS in the recently-launched People\u2019s Manifesto.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The DAP was officially registered as a political party on 18 March 1966, marking the beginning of the party\u2019s long and winding journey in its fight for social and economic justice for all Malaysians.<\/p>\n

On 29 July 1967, the party held its first ever National Congress in Kuala Lumpur, foring the historic \u2018Setapak Declaration\u2019, emboldening the party\u2019s deep-rooted commitment towards the ideals of a free and democratic Malaysia.<\/p>\n

On its 47th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary, this commitment prevails. Happy birthday, Democratic Action Party. \u2014 The Rocket<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JOHOR BAHRU, 20 March \u2014 The struggle lives on \u2014 47 years and counting. For the Democratic Action Party (DAP), nearly half a decade of endurance, with its fair share of challenges and obstacles, has only rendered the party stronger to continuously progress in championing a better Malaysia for all. Emotions were high at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4634","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=4634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}