COMMENT | Why DAP's leadership structure is better than that of Umno's?

COMMENT | Understanding DAP is not just important to DAP members or its allies. DAP’s significant influence and the size of its parliamentary presence today means that the media and the public need to get it right to avoid misjudgment.

I am often asked why DAP's ‘president’ is not elected directly by delegates? For a start, DAP has no president. Following the tradition of left-wing parties, DAP’s No. 1 leader is the secretary-general.

In the DAP, the secretary-general is someone like the CEO of an organisation while the chairman is akin to the chairman of the board. The chairman exercises checks-and-balances over the CEO through the board meetings – in the DAP’s case, it would be the central executive committee (CEC) meetings.

The secretary-general/CEO has no absolute power. He has executive power for operations, but when it comes to policies, he has to abide by the collective wisdom of the CEC/board. Yet, not having an all-powerful party president is a blessing for DAP. Just look at Umno under Najib Abdul Razak, and you would know what I mean...