“ANYTHING is possible in politics” – this is what DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook had to say about the party working together with UMNO, two parties whose animosity for each other is infamously known.
In an interview with Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Loke said collaboration between different political parties became “more likely” after the 14th General Elections (GE14), as there was no single dominant party.
He added that cooperation with UMNO is nothing new, pointing out that DAP and its other Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan) partners have put aside their differences with UMNO in the past.
This includes the ouster of former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizul Azumu from his position and the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Pakatan and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
“I will not rule out anything because what is important is that we (all parties) must be agenda-based,” Loke told FMT.
Loke added that DAP is open to working with any party pursuing reforms and fighting corruption.
“As far as DAP is concerned, we want to strengthen Pakatan (and) we want to push for reforms.
“Good governance is our main agenda and we also want to see more integrity in our Government as well as a fight against corruption.”
However, any collaboration with UMNO, if at all, would only happen after the 15th General Elections (GE15), the Seremban MP said.
Whether UMNO will reciprocate and join hands with DAP – a party the former often blames for pretty much everything – remains to be seen, as some party leaders have always been dead set against working together.
“Anwar still our choice for PM”
Meanwhile, Loke reaffirmed the party’s stand on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim being the prime minister candidate for Pakatan.
However, he did not discount the need for “compromise” if no party had a clear majority after GE15.
“Of course, the position right now is that Anwar, as the leader of Pakatan, is the natural choice. But I think that (the PM candidate) depends very much on the outcome of the next election.
“If PH can win with a clear-cut majority, then, naturally, he (Anwar) will be the PM,” he said.
Pakatan, comprising PKR, Amanah and Sabah-based United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO), can forget banking on support from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Pejuang party after the former Pakatan leader shut the door on GE15 discussions.
It is also highly unlikely that Pakatan will work with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), its former ally that ditched the coalition to work with UMNO and PAS to wrest control over Putrajaya in 2020.
However, now that UMNO has broken away from the pact and PPBM and PAS are on their own, anything, really, is possible after GE15. – Aug 7, 2022
