Some fresh faces have been elected to the central committee, while a few veterans have all but been shown the door.

It is a positive development that nine women have been elected to the 30-member committee – a 30% representation. (But there’s still a way to go before the DAP can catch up with Parti Sosialis Malaysia, whose 15-member central committee has six women or 40%.)

Hopefully, this will be a springboard for the DAP to ensure that 30% of its candidates for the next general election are women.

While the old guard fades into the sunset, younger politicians in the party are stepping out of the shadows.

People across Malaysia are now watching closely to see if the fresh faces in the committee will adopt a different philosophy or narrative, a different economic approach. They are waiting to see if there will be a genuine change in the party’s traditional thinking about the type of development suitable for the people.

For instance, what does the new leadership think about the controversial mega-projects in Penang? Will they be open to more sustainable and cheaper alternatives?

The RM25bn price tag for the elevated light rail transit project and the Pan Island Link highway project is staggering – especially given that the Penang state government’s budget is just about RM1bn. The concrete footprint will also have an enormous impact.

Will they champion alternatives like water transport and remedy the neglect of the ferry and bus services? Hopefully, they will take a look at the shelved Halcrow transport blueprint. This plan focused on affordable buses, trams and ferries – instead of that multi-billion-ringgit elevated LRT.

Will these younger leaders still want to pursue even more land reclamation on fishing waters or atop precious seagrass?

Or will they challenge the development model driven by property developers, many of whom seem more interested in expensive housing rather than genuinely affordable housing for the people?

They should also spare a moment to look at the lack of policy interest in workers’ wellbeing. Many working-class families are one emergency away from financial disaster. Low-income workers are struggling to cope with spiralling prices. Even young people are falling into bankruptcy while the middle class are also squeezed.

Some of the urban poor have children who have not even attended school. Many lack a balanced diet, surviving on nasi lemak or sardines. Others have precious little retirement savings in their Employees Provident Fund.

The root cause remains unspoken (or at least we do not hear much about it from the corridors of power). Low wages mean workers receive a shrinking slice of the national income pie. Is there the political will to discuss feasible solutions beyond cash handouts?

Will the new committee members show any interest in food security and the challenges that farmers face in places like the Kinta Valley? The irony is that, at a time of higher food prices, many of these farmers are being driven out of farms. Fisherfolk, who put affordable protein on people’s plates, have to move further out to sea because of coastal land reclamation.

The real test for this new generation of leaders is not just winning party positions – it is whether they can reimagine what development should mean for the people of Malaysia.

Now is the moment for a sustainable plan. Now is the time to resolve the people’s hardships on the ground.

Anil Netto

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