DAP sets up branch in Malay area following internal strife

The DAP move to set up a branch at a Malay-dominant area in the Kepala Batas parliamentary constituency is believed to have been fuelled by internal squabbles within the party.

Penang UMNO Liaison Committee chairman Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said it was also due to the current political discord in the party which saw supporters demanding the party administration be led by a local leader.

"I believe it is linked to their internal politics where supporters want the chief minister's post now held by Lim Guan Eng to be handed over to Chow Kon Yeow, who is DAP state chairman.

"When there is a new branch, it provides opportunity for delegates there to attend the state party convention and select their leaders, This is among their strategy," he told reporters after presenting business equipment assistance under the Kepala Batas Parliamentary Constituency 1Azam Programme here on Sunday.

He was commenting on DAP's latest tactic to expand the party's influence in Kepala Batas by setting up a new branch in a Malay area after breaking off ties with PAS.

Reezal Merican, who is Kepala Batas MP and foreign deputy minister, said UMNO was monitoring the development even though Kepala Batas was an UMNO stronghold.