KL's Reform Pledge Tested as DAP Chief Bows Over Aide's Death

Case Unsolved Since 2009 Has Come to Symbolize Govt's Unfulfilled Promises

- Lu Wei Hoong

KUALA LUMPUR — In front of around 20 members of the media at a news conference on July 17, Malaysia's Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary-general Anthony Loke did something hardly expected of a senior politician in the country: He bowed.

It was a gesture of remorse over the death of Mr Teoh Beng Hock, a political aide to a DAP assemblyman, who died in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) 16 years ago — a case that, despite DAP's longstanding calls for justice, remains unsolved.

"As the investigation remains incomplete and the results have yet to meet the Teoh family's expectations, the DAP bows to the Teoh family in respect and sorrow," Mr Loke said at the press conference.

The unexpected move is not typically associated with the once-firebrand party that rode waves of public anger over the case, and called for reform and justice for the victim.

"Gosh, since when did DAP bow down?" said a public relations practitioner who declined to be named, reflecting public surprise over the gesture, after seeing it in the news.

Despite multiple investigations, no one has been held accountable for Mr Teoh's death in 2009.

This has become a sticking point for the DAP that has been struggling to maintain its support among Chinese Malaysians who form the core base of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition government.

The case has become emblematic of the DAP's and PH's unfulfilled promises. The coalition led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which first came to power in 2018 pledging reform and accountability, now faces rising scrutiny. After PH's 2018 electoral victory, the Cabinet agreed to reopen the case.

And, as the government gears up for the next general election due by early 2028, the bow by the DAP's leader represents a lot more than just a gesture.