The Democratic Action Party (DAP) will put forward a motion at its national congress on August 16, 2026, for about 4,000 delegates to decide if the party should stay in Malaysia's unity government until the current parliamentary term ends or withdraw from it [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
The vote will be conducted by secret ballot and is not subject to a decision by the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC), which has avoided taking an official stance to allow the delegates to decide without influence [1, 4, 5, 6]. DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook said, "We are leaving it to the delegates. That decision will be made on Aug 16" [1]. He added, "This decision will be made by the 4,000 delegates, not the CEC. We want to take it further through the party's democratic process, especially on major decisions, rather than having them decided solely by CEC members" [2].
Loke acknowledged varied opinions within the CEC but emphasized they were personal views. "Of course, there are various views within the CEC, but those are the personal views of individual CEC members. I do not wish to influence the delegates' decision," he said [4]. He also added, "Even though I’m the secretary-general and Gobind is chairman, the decision whether we remain or not in the government will be decided by the delegates as part of the party’s collective decision" [6].
Currently, DAP is the largest party in Malaysia's unity government with 40 Members of Parliament. The party holds five ministerial posts and seven deputy ministerial positions, including Anthony Loke as transport minister [1]. However, DAP has faced a decline in support following recent state elections, losing all six contested seats in Sabah and performing poorly in Negeri Sembilan, where Loke himself lost his seat [4, 5, 7].
The party’s role within the Pakatan Harapan coalition remains separate from the motion and has not been addressed in CEC discussions [1, 4, 5].
On August 3, the CEC agreed to table the motion for the delegates to decide [7]. The following day, Loke publicly confirmed the motion and the delegate vote at press events [1, 6]. The national congress on August 16 will have the 4,000 delegates vote by secret ballot on staying or withdrawing from the unity government [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7].
