Last December, a technical glitch saw Zairil Khir Johari (pic) being “elected” to DAP’s 20-member Central Executive Committee (CEC).
On September 29, when the party conducts a re-election to pick a new CEC, he hopes his ability and performance as a party member and Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera will speak for themselves.
“In terms of winnability, I supposed there is much more awareness on me due to my higher profile as an MP now and of course the previous election,” he wryly said.
The son of late Umno strongman Tan Sri Khir Johari, who served under three prime ministers, Zairil joined DAP three years ago and since then has had a meteoric rise in the party.
He was appointed political secretary to Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng and chief executive officer of think tank Penang Institute.
To his critics who think his lack of political experience is a drawback, Zairil said: “It is not the years of experience but how you handle your responsibilities. I hope this is how I will be judged.”
However, he stressed that the election should not be a popularity contest but chosing the best to lead the party forward, regardless of race.
“At the end of the day, DAP is about ability and competency. Delegates should vote along those lines and not because of race,” he said when pointed out that despite being a multi-racial party, a huge chunk of its CEC and members are non-Malays.
The soft-spoken 31-year-old said he would be fine if it turns out that he does not make it into the CEC this time around.
“I am OK because at the end of the day, it is the delegates’ choice,” he said.
He said he represents a new breed of young politicians.
“Being part of the reformasi generation, we come from very different backgrounds, which is free from the old racial model. This is the future of Malaysian politics,” he added.
DAP is holding fresh CEC elections to avoid deregistration following a directive by the RoS on July 30.
The election was ordered by RoS after several disgruntled members claimed that the election in December last year was not properly conducted, especially after the party announced that a tabulation glitch had resulted in the wrong candidate being elected to the CEC.
These disgruntled members also claimed they were not informed of the party polls.
The party’s national organising secretary Anthony Loke had rebutted the allegations that it did not inform 753 delegates of the party polls and produced evidence of members’ attendance record, signatures and postal receipts which showed notices were sent out. – September 9, 2013.
