FOLLOWING Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) dismal performance during the Johor state elections last week, the coalition’s presidential council has acknowledged its weaknesses and said that it would work to immediately address them ahead of the 15th general election (GE15).
“The PH presidential council accepts the people’s decision in the Johor elections and acknowledges the weaknesses, among them the multi-cornered contests by opposition parties, issues of contesting under the coalition logo, low voter turnout and the coalition’s communication strategies,” it said.
“PH will work to address these weaknesses immediately by rethinking its strategy ahead of GE15. These weaknesses cannot be overcome by one party or one initiative alone, but must be managed comprehensively in a joint effort by all involved.”
The council in its statement also said that it would “embrace all the forces willing to resist greed and corruption” in hopes of fostering cooperation among opposition parties and to defeat Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Opposition parties should not contest only in PH areas which would reduce the votes for the coalition and directly increase the chances of victory for BN,” it added.
Meanwhile the council further reiterated PH’s commitment to establishing sustainable economic policies capable of resolving the people’s woes such as unemployment, cost of living, COVID-19 pandemic management including issues related to standard operating procedures (SOPs) and compounds as well as electricity tariffs for businesses.
On the issue of the anti-hopping bill that the coalition had demanded as part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that it had signed with the federal government last September it said that a meeting would be held with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to discuss the matter in the near future.
The statement was signed by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and UPKO president Datuk Seri Madius Tangau. – March 16, 2022
Main photo credit: BebasNews
