Malaysia’s DAP votes overwhelmingly to stay on in Cabinet, offering reprieve to PM Anwar

PUTRAJAYA: The Democratic Action Party (DAP) resolved on Sunday (Aug 16) for its Cabinet ministers to remain in Malaysia's unity government, offering a reprieve to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Delegates voted overwhelmingly at DAP’s congress for its five full ministers and seven deputy ministers to remain in the government.

Of the 2,106 secret ballots cast, 1,857 (88.2%) voted in favour of staying while 242 (11.5%) voted for the ministers to quit their posts. There were seven spoilt ballots. 

A total of 4,264 delegates were eligible to vote, with 2,223 of them attending the congress.

DAP decided to hold the vote after a drubbing in the November 2025 Sabah state election in which it lost in all the eight seats it contested.  

Initially scheduled for Jul 12, the congress was postponed due to the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections, which saw DAP's seat counts drop from 10 to six and 11 to nine, respectively. 

A DAP withdrawal from the Cabinet would have posed a serious threat to Anwar’s administration and could even force him to call an early general election, analysts previously told CNA.

DAP’s Cabinet members are Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Steven Sim, and Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

There are 32 ministers in Malaysia’s Cabinet. There are also 30 deputy ministers. 

DAP holds 40 parliamentary seats in Malaysia’s 222-member lower house – the most seats in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which also comprises Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Parti Amanah Negara, which hold 29 and eight seats respectively. 

Multi-racial in outlook but predominantly Chinese in composition, it draws much of its support from urban voters in big towns and cities across Malaysia. 

Earlier in the day, DAP secretary-general Loke reiterated that the party - which turns 60 this year - was for all Malaysians regardless of race or religion.  

“DAP will remain as a multiracial party … This is the most important philosophy of the party. We are not fighting for any one race, but for the success of Malaysians and for the country to be progressive,” he said. 

At DAP’s PH partner Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)’s congress during the weekend in Melaka, its vice-president Amirudin Shari said PKR must continue to defend a fair political approach to all sections of society, while respecting the position of Islam and Malays in the Federal Constitution. 

Their remarks contrast with the identity politics and racial rhetoric of the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalitions, which have seen a resurgence in the recent Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections through a pact to unite the Malay vote.

At DAP’s congress, Loke also apologised for failing to defend the Chennah seat he had held for three terms in the Negeri Sembilan polls, admitting that the party faced a big challenge to win over Malay voters.

“Our biggest challenge is how to overcome this wall,” he said, adding that this was a challenge the party had faced since its inception. 

Loke said that being in government meant bearing all unpopular decisions collectively, which ultimately led the party to face various challenges, criticism and protest votes across the three state elections including Sabah in November 2025. 

“I hope that whatever decision is made by the delegates today, the most important thing that we want to see is positive change in our country so that Malaysia becomes a progressive country,” he said before handing the floor to DAP delegates representing all 14 Malaysian states. 

All 14 of them made the case for DAP’s ministers to stay on, with many of them stressing the need to maintain political stability.    

DAP Selangor’s Shakir Ameer Mohideen said DAP had fought long and hard to be in the government, and “can’t just give up because of a few setbacks”. 

“We have gone through much worse in the past and must continue to persevere,” he said. 

DAP Sarawak’s Soo Tien Ren said quitting the government now would be political “suicide” as it would mean abandoning the millions of Malaysians who had believed in them. 

“It would mean abandoning our responsibility to correct our own mistakes,” he said, arguing that the party should fight to implement the reforms it had advocated for while in the opposition. 

Kuala Lumpur delegate Sangeet Kaur Deo said the party needed to rebuild voter trust and confidence.

“On too many issues, we have remained silent because we didn’t want to rock the boat,” she said, adding that voters had questioned the party’s silence.   

She cited the discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) granted to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over 47 corruption charges, alongside media reports alleging the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) colluded with a group of businessmen in corporate disputes. Former MACC chief Azam Baki has denied the allegations.

Sangeet was not optimistic DAP could continue to work with the BN lynchpin party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which she said had openly attacked DAP despite being part of the same federal government.

“The fact is we cannot work with these coalition partners but we need to strengthen our party and I hope we are going to use the next 18 months to speak up while in government,” she said. Malaysia’s next general election is due by February 2028, but may be called sooner.

“So stay in government and speak up while we are there, And if we must become opposition again, at least we have laid the basis and regained credibility,” said Sangeet.

In a press conference after the announcement of the results, Loke thanked those who had given the party leaders the trust to continue serving in government and pushing ahead with reforms promised under the PH manifesto.  

He also rejected suggestions that the vote was intended to pressure Anwar with a DAP-driven agenda, saying the reforms were commitments collectively agreed upon by PH.

When asked about the timeline for these reforms, Loke said that both Anwar and the government should be given the time to implement them, saying that they couldn’t discuss everything in the media openly.    

“We are part of the government. We are part of the cabinet…We will bring all our aspirations and the feedback from our grassroots, feedback from our delegates back to the government through our cabinet channel,” he said.

Loke said these included cost-of-living concerns, such as appeals to review petrol and diesel quotas, particularly for Sabah and Sarawak.

He also noted that some of the feedback during the congress was heavily critical, calling for both the government and the party to adopt a more decisive and assertive stance.

“And with that spirit, of course, and with the mandate given by the delegates, we will continue to play our role within the government,” he said.