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2025 Democratic Action Party National Congress
2025 Malaysian political event held in Shah Alam, Selangor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2025 Democratic Action Party National Congress, or the 18th Democratic Action Party National Congress, was a Malaysian political event that was held in IDCC Ideal Convention Centre, Shah Alam, Selangor on 16 March 2025. The event elected the Central Executive Committee (CEC), the highest decision-making body of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, for the next 3-year term, from 2025 to 2028. During the congress, the delegates voted for candidates for the CEC. The 30 candidates who won the most votes, with 9 women, were elected to the CEC.
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Background
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The congress is the 18th in the history of the party. It is the first since the party became part of the federal government, as a component party of the PH coalition, which formed a coalition government with the Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators of Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), Heritage Party (WARISAN) with the support, confidence and supply of the Social Democratic Harmony Party (KDM), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) and independent MPs as a result of a hung parliament elected in the 2022 general election. The government led by Chairman of PH Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister was named the 'Unity Government', named after the large number of coalitions and parties forming the government despite technically not being a unity government, a type of government where there is no opposition in Parliament, however, Perikatan Nasional (PN) and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) are the opposition coalition and party in Parliament, and 'Madani Government', named after the government slogan 'Malaysia Madani'. The previous 17 congresses were held when the party was in the opposition, with the 17th and most recent one on 20 March 2022. Although this is the second time the party became a part of the government, the party did not hold a congress during its brief first term in government, from the 10 May 2018 to 24 February 2020, the time between the 16th on 12 November 2017 and 17th congress. The congress was to elect the CEC for the 3-year term from 2025 to 2028, approve the amendments to the party constitution, among others.
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Congress leadership and attendance
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Officers and attendees
The chair of the congress was State Advisor of DAP of Pahang Leong Ngah Ngah and the vice chairs of the congress were Senators Noorita Sual and Kesavadas Achyuthan Nair while the returning officer of the CEC election was Desmond Tan. On 3 March 2025, Sim confirmed the attendance of Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Chairman of PH, President of the People's Justice Party (PKR) and MP for Tambun Anwar Ibrahim, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, President of the National Trust Party (AMANAH) and MP for Kota Raja Mohamad Sabu, Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development, President of the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) and MP for Penampang Ewon Benedick as well as Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living, Senator and Secretary-General of PKR Fuziah Salleh as the guests of the congress representing fellow PH component parties. Anwar, Mohamad and Ewon later attended. In addition to them, Minister of Home Affairs, Senator and Advisor of the Management Committee of PKR Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Deputy Minister of National Unity, Senator and Vice President of PKR Saraswathy Kandasami, Deputy Minister of Defence, MP for Alor Gajah and Vice President of AMANAH Adly Zahari also turned up at the congress.
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Selection of delegates
The Constitution of DAP states that each party branch of at least 25 members has to send 2 delegates, usually the chairman and vice chairman, to the congress to vote in the CEC election.[1] An additional delegate, usually the secretary, is allowed for branches with membership exceeding 50 and for branches exceeding 100 members, an incremental addition is allowed for every additional 100 paid up members. A branch usually sent 2 to 3 delegates. All elected representatives, the MPs and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the party, alongside other incumbent CEC members are also entitled to attend the congress as delegates. The party had 40 MPs and 90 MLAs at the time of the congress. According to Khoo Poay Tiong, the incumbent Assistant National Organising Secretary, the number of delegates was 4,203, the highest in the history of the party congress. The delegates were from 1,650 party branches nationwide, with an average number of 2.55 delegates per branch.
Nominating and voting
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Each party branch nominated 30 candidates for the CEC, and each candidates must receive at least 2 branch nominations to qualify for the election. 107 party members qualified. The party notified the candidates, and they were given 14 days to decide whether to accept the nomination, the candidates who accepted were still allowed to withdraw from the election. The votes received by the withdrawn candidates were invalid. The nominations closed on 31 January 2025 and the deadline on accepting the nominations was on 14 February 2025. After that, the party headquarters verified the list of candidates. The full list of candidates for the election was then announced by Sim on 3 March 2025. 70 candidates accepted. 6 later withdrew from the election, they were Edmund Teoh Kheng Yaik on 14 March 2025 as well as Kalidas Komarawelo, Kaliyappan P Renganathan, Nicole Tan Lee Koon, Phee Syn Tze and Soon Lip Chee on 15 March 2025. 64 others remained in the election. According to Khoo, the party appointed a private international audit firm to handle the vote counting and ballot opening process to ensure the transparency and fairness of the election. Due to the large number of delegates and the limited venue capacity, only the delegates were allowed to enter the hall during the congress. The party headquarters also named a 300-member special task force to maintain order at the venue. Clause VIII Section 14 allows each delegate to vote for 30 members to elect the CEC for the upcoming term of 3 years.[1]
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Results
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Candidates
Clause VIII Section 16 of the Constitution of DAP states that a 30% quota of the CEC elected membership, which is 9 members, is reserved for female candidates.[1] The full list of candidates was announced on 3 March 2025. There were 70 candidates, out of them, 55 were men while 15 were women.
| Elected | |
| Co-opted | |
| Defeated | |
| Withdrawn |
Non-candidates co-opted to the CEC
5 non-candidates, Andrew Chen Kah Eng, Papparaidu Veraman, Thulsi Thivani Manogaran, Tony Pua Kiam Wee and Yap Yee Vonne were co-opted to the CEC on 23 June 2025. Chen, Papparaidu, Thulsi Thivani and Yap were co-opted as the Committee Members while Pua was co-opted as the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee.
| Co-opted |
Outgoing CEC members
The following CEC members did not contest in the election for re-election. Tan Kok Wai was later co-opted to the CEC as the Advisor II on 23 June 2025.
| Co-opted |
CEC leadership changes
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Controversies and issues
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Lim Guan Eng
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There was public attention to Lim Guan Eng, the incumbent National Chairman, on whether he would contest, win in the CEC election and defend his position and issues related to him in the election, including his possible successors for the position. On 3 March 2025, Steven Sim Chee Keong, the incumbent National Organising Secretary announced the full list of candidates, Lim was confirmed to be contesting. Lim garnered 1,719 votes, placing him at the 26th place and was reelected to the CEC. Lim was later appointed as the new Advisor, replacing Tan Kok Wai while incumbent National Deputy Chairman Gobind Singh Deo who was reelected to the CEC with 2,785 votes, placing him at the 1st place, was named as the new National Chairman, taking over the position from Lim.
Candidate detained for alleged corruption
On 6 March 2025, it was reported that a CEC candidate had been detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for 4 days over alleged corruption. The candidate, a former assistant to a DAP MP, was accused of awarding a school contract without an open tender. Party members reported him, believing the case is politically motivated ahead of the party election and linked to election rivalries. He allegedly designated a specific contractor for purchasing interactive whiteboards, leading to accusations of overpricing. However, he insisted that he followed procedures and submitted documents for approval, though the MP denies reviewing them. Meanwhile, the youth wing of DAP, the DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) of Seputeh condemned the MACC's actions, calling them selective investigations aimed at creating a chilling effect during the election. They urged authorities to remain neutral and uphold democratic fairness.[19] In response, Teresa Kok Suh Sim, the incumbent National Vice Chairperson, CEC candidate and MP for Seputeh, expressed her shock over the MACC's investigation and detention of her two former aides, including Edmund Teoh Kheng Yaik, the Publicity Secretary of DAP of Kuala Lumpur and CEC candidate, for questioning. She emphasised that the case was unrelated to her, that she was unaware of the MACC's reasons, and that it was beyond her control. She urged against baseless accusations. She also linked the probe to the Federal Territories Education Department procurement inquiry. She mentioned that on 14 November 2024, she questioned the justification for the department's purchase of interactive whiteboards in Parliament. She had also shared her remarks in a speech publicly for transparency. She also expressed regret and disappointment over accusations from some party members and the families of the detained aides, who blamed her for the MACC's actions against them and emphasised MACC's independence, urging against speculation that could disrupt the investigation.[20] Besides, a viral video showed a tearful woman, claiming to be Teoh's mother, demanding an explanation and answer from Kok after Teoh's detention by the MACC. She stated that Teoh had assisted Kok since he was 17 and expressed sadness and heartbreak over his arrest.[21]
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See also
Notes
- Replaced with Woo Kah Leong in the position on 11 March 2025, 5 days before the election.
- Withdrew from the election on 14 March 2025, 2 days before the election.
- Withdrew from the election on 15 March 2025, 1 day before the election.
References
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