Political outcomes aren’t political strategies, DAP man tells Kian Ming

DAP's Kampar MP, Chong Zhemin, has challenged his fellow party member Ong Kian Ming's assertion that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) party indirectly benefited from racial narratives in previous elections. Chong argued that Ong's claim conflated PH's campaign with the openly race-based narratives used by Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).

In a statement, Chong emphasized that PH has never employed a campaign strategy that pits one race against another. Instead, PH's central message has consistently been the unity of Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, in support of good governance, moderation, economic justice, and democratic institutions. In contrast, Chong pointed out that BN and PN have habitually used DAP as a political weapon to incite Malay voters, urging them to band together to safeguard their rights and interests from a perceived external threat.

Chong stressed that there is a significant difference between urging Malaysians to reject extremism and singling out members of a particular race to protect themselves from other communities. He clarified that warning voters about religious extremism or policies that may undermine Malaysia's multicultural character is not the same as mobilizing voters based solely on racial solidarity.

During an appearance on the Keluar Sekejap podcast, Ong maintained that it was unfair to attribute PH's defeat in the Negeri Sembilan election solely to their rivals' use of identity politics. Ong acknowledged that PH had previously appealed to non-Malay voters to unite, agreeing with co-host Khairy Jamaluddin that PH had used coded references to the "green wave" as a dog whistle to encourage Chinese voters to rally behind the coalition.