By: Oon Yeoh
First published: 9 March 04, TODAY

Throughout much of the '70s, '80s and '90s, the Democratic Action Party
(DAP) was the main opposition party in Malaysia with its seasoned leader,
Mr Lim Kit Siang, serving as the parliamentary opposition leader.

This was a time when Mr Lim was at the height of his power and considered all but invincible.

Then in 1999 he made a bold move, vacating his safe seat of Tanjung (a DAP
stronghold) to compete for the Bukit Bendera seat against Mr Chia Kwang
Chye, the secretary-general of Gerakan (a component party of the Barisan
Nasional (BN) ruling coalition).

It was a tactical decision designed to win his party an extra seat - but Mr Lim lost by the slimmest of margins: 104 votes.

Many interpreted his defeat as punishment meted out by mainly Chinese voters for his decision to join hands with the fundamentalist Islamic party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), in forming the Barisan Alternatif coalition.

Others blamed the loss on the waning powers of Mr Lim, who had once managed to oust then-Penang Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu from a state seat.

Reeling from the shock of his first parliamentary loss in three decades, Mr Lim took the DAP out of the Barisan Alternatif and distanced the party from PAS.

He has also made opposition to the concept of "creeping Islamisation" the DAP's central theme.

Some DAP officials have said the election is a "make-or-break" situation for the party. This is probably a tactic to prompt complacent and latent supporters to come out and vote for the party.

In all likelihood, the DAP will retain the 10 seats it won the last time.

The seats are mainly in places where the DAP has traditionally enjoyed rock- solid support. Even if it does badly, the party might lose only a seat or two. If it does well, it will gain roughly the same number of seats.

The more interesting question is whether Mr Lim, the DAP's chairman, will get back into Parliament.

That he will run is certain. Where he will run, however, remains uncertain. No official decision had been made, although party insiders said Mr Lim would contest in Bukit Bendera (where he lost to Gerakan's Mr Chia) or in Ipoh Timur (where the DAP lost to the BN by 2,127 votes).

On paper, Ipoh Timur seems like a more difficult seat to win, but Bukit Bendera is the harder one. Mr Chia has done a lot of groundwork and has considerably bolstered his position there.

Analysts familiar with the constituency said Mr Chia is immensely popular and would soundly defeat Mr Lim if the latter runs there. The Ipoh Timur seat, in contrast, is held by the Malaysian Chinese Association's Mr Thong Fah Chong, a relative unknown compared to Mr Lim.

Though it is by no means a "safe seat", DAP officials hope that the people's desire to put Mr Lim back in Parliament is enough for him to win there.

There is no question that many non-Malays - the DAP has always been a Chinese-dominated party - miss Mr Lim's presence in Parliament.

Another certainty is that if Mr Lim loses, it will end his political career, which began in 1969 during the waning years of Tunku Abdul Rahman's administration.

This election may not be "make-or-break" for the DAP, but it certainly is for Mr Lim.

Oon Yeoh is a journalist and commentator based in Kuala Lumpur.