A DAP veteran today told younger party members to take lessons in humility and not to cast party veterans aside in the pursuit of their political ambition.

The party's deputy chairperson Karpal Singh said its young leaders should not forget the sacrifices and contributions of party veterans who had suffered detention under the ISA and criminal prosecutions in defending the party's principles.

He said the contributions of veterans should not be taken for granted and any non-recognition of these sacrifices amounts to "more than an unkind cut and departure from principles upon which the DAP has it strong foundations".

"Their contributions should not be taken for granted by the young who would not be where they are today but for the sacrifices of the veterans," he said in a statement.

Karpal was defending veterans in the party including himself and party chairperson Lim Kit Siang following internal criticisms on the participation of veteran leaders in the coming general election due in November next year.

Strongholds lost

Yesterday DAP Penang head Chow Kon Yeow said the party must consider replacing veteran leaders to run for seats in Penang if it wants to improve its presence in the state legislative assembly and to recapture the parliamentary constituencies which used to be their strongholds such as Bukit Bendera and Jelutong.

Lim and Karpal had lost the two mentioned seats during the 1999 general election while the party had only managed to secure one state seat - a vast difference compared to the 1990 elections when the party won 14 state seats.

"We must think whether the veteran leaders still have support or to replace these veterans with young leaders for the parliamentary seats," said Chow.

Responding on the selection of candidates, Karpal reminded party members that only the party's central executive committee (CEC) can decide on the candidacy of aspiring hopefuls adding that the party considers contribution to the party as a prime criteria in choosing a candidate and not his or her age.

"Whether a person is old or young for political office requires an objective test. Both Kit Siang and I have fire in our bellies. We are only in our early sixties. It is a complete misconception to relegate both of us to political retirement and oblivion," he said.

Relatively young

"In fact, the former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad retired at 78 and compared to him we are relatively young. It is on record that Mahathir was in his prime in his early 60s. Both Kit Siang and I have a long struggle ahead. Let that be understood and not repeated."

He also pointed out that it was not the age factor that Lim and him lost their seats in the last general election but the party's association with PAS - a relation that has since been severed due to conflicting views on the Islamic state issue.

He also called on DAP leaders to think positively and work towards a forceful and meaningful election campaigns stating that political reality dictates that it will be a strong opposition in the coming elections.

"DAP is steeply entrenched in the psyche of voters in the country and I am confident that it will obtain strong support in the elections both in Penang and elsewhere in the country," Karpal added.