DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy), which has identified 15 election candidates, is also using the upcoming polls to subject itself to a candid review.

National secretary Loke Siew Fook said several scenarios are being discussed even as routine aspects of election preparations are being undertaken.

For a start, the list of Dapsy candidates will be submitted to the party's central executive council for approval.

While Loke would not reveal their names, he said that most of these have been pencilled in for state seats - he himself is likely to stand for one in his home state of Negri Sembilan.

"There is a good chance that these names will be approved since most of candidates now hold positions in state-level committees," he said in an interview.

Currently, Dapsy has two state assembly representatives - its chief Nga Kor Ming (Pantai Remis) and Seah Leong Peng (Pasir Bedamar), both in Perak.

Its sole member of Parliament (for Batu Gajah), Fong Po Kuan, has said that she does not intend to contest the election, due by November but widely tipped to be called earlier.

'DAP will do better'

Loke also strongly hinted that the party is prepared to go it alone, without waiting to co-ordinate election preparations with other youth wings in the opposition coalition Barisan Alternatif (BA).

Last August, DAP suspended its seat allocation negotiations with former ally, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan). This has since raised speculation as to whether DAP can stand on its own during the elections.

Several attempts between top leaders of the two parties to resume talks have yet to produce agreement over the distribution of seats.

Loke was one of the three members in the DAP's negotiation team prior to the suspension of talks.

"We (Dapsy) must work together with the parent party. We will avoid multi-cornered fights and because of that, DAP will go alone. But we are not going back to BA (of which the party was a member until 2001)," he said.

He predicted that DAP would do better this time around, since it would no longer be affiliated with PAS policies such as the intention to establish an Islamic state.

DAP candidates took a beating during the 1999 elections, and were later condemned by rival Chinese-based parties MCA and Gerakan for having helped strengthen PAS' electoral success.

Predominantly Chinese

Elaborating on Dapsy's preparations, Loke said the wing recently launched a bilingual 12-point election manifesto, aiming at thousands of young voters who will go to the polls for the first time.

The manifesto, entitled 'Your first time: make the right choice', was drafted two months ago with the objective of creating a new image for the youth wing. Some 20,000 copies are ready for distribution.

"We took into considerations the demands and concerns of young people today," Loke said of the manifesto. (See chart)

Dapsy has directed its members to distribute copies to university students. Loke conceded that the wing does not have a strong presence on campuses compared to PAS Youth.

Loke also spoke about other weaknesses that Dapsy will have to address, including the committee line-up which lacks a sufficiently multi-racial and gender-equal composition. The committee now comprises 19 Chinese, three Indians and one Malay member.

"I don't deny that we are still predominantly-Chinese, but this is not a deliberate policy - just a reality. We will try to be more multi-racial if possible but it is not an easy task in our political climate. For instance, Gerakan is dominated by Chinese and Keadilan by Malays."

He blamed the media for not giving additional space to Dapsy's activities, which he said has led to the perception that it is "quiet" or merely supporting the parent body.

Loke refused to comment on the recent resignation of committee member Jadryn Loo, beyond saying that any party is not reliant on a single individual.

Loke, who has been secretary for a year now, added that most of the grouses expressed by Dapsy leaders are related to their heavy responsibilities and workload.