FOLLOWING the drubbing at the Johor state election, DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng urged Pakatan Harapan leaders to stop blaming poor voter turnout and COVID-19 for their losses.
With that he took a veiled jab on his allies, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) for going against the coalition’s own principles which had jaded their own supporters and fence-sitters.
“There is no use pinning the blame of Pakatan’s losses on lower voter turnout. It is as an exercise in self-denial to cover up the continued refusal to understand or refuse to address the root cause.
“Only with self-reflection can we avoid losing all our seats and offer hope of revival and victory in the next general election.
“For instance, how can we convince voters that Pakatan is committed to anti-hopping laws when defectors from Government parties are put up as our candidates? Principles and ideals matter when one talks about being an agent of change and reforms,” he said in a statement.
Lim was referring to PKR and Amanah’s decision to field two party-hoppers in the last Melaka state election, which courted brickbats from their own supporters back then.
At the time, four state assemblyman known as the Melaka Quartet, pulled out their support from the Melaka state government, which triggered the by-election.
Despite DAP’s objection in allowing them to contest under their banner, PKR eventually fielded former UMNO leader Datuk Seri Idris Haron under its logo for the Asahan state seat.
Amanah, on the other hand, allowed another former UMNO leader Datuk Nor Azman Hassan to contest for the Pantai Kundor state seat.
Not only did PKR got wiped out in the Melaka state election but both Idris and Nor Azman also lost in the contest.
Disunity, lacking common goals
For the Johor polls, PKR decided to use its own logo to contest, stating the Pakatan banner carried too much baggage as it was designed when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was leading the coalition.
On that note, Lim said that it was time Pakatan leaders face the harsh reality that they also played a role for the losses suffered in Johor.
For example, he added, the Opposition parties failed to contest using a common banner which signalled lack of unity among them.
“We also lacked a common vision and a Menteri Besar candidate and the fact that many parties contested against each other did not help either.
“This is particularly true for Parti Warisan Sabah, which contested all six seats held by Pakatan as well as campaigning more for us to get defeated rather than BN,” the former finance minister noted.
With that, the Bagan MP remarked: “It’s time we consider working on a ‘big tent’ approach of all genuine opposition parties opposed to BN, excluding Perikatan Nasional.” – March 14, 2022.
Pic credit: Bernama
