SHAH ALAM – DAP today brushed aside speculations about the party going at it solo in the next general election by reaffirming its stance on contesting under the banner of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
After delivering his policy speech at the DAP congress today, outgoing secretary-general Lim Guan Eng indicated that the party will be working alongside its partners in PH.
He said this is because it is impossible for any political party to win an election without the backing of a coalition.
“I’ve said before that the only way to win general elections is through a coalition. No party in history has ever won alone,” he told a press conference.
“Even Umno, when it was at its strongest, also won through a coalition. So let us face the reality that the people want to see a coalition of various interests working together under one Malaysian umbrella to rule the country.”
Asked whether the fractious opposition can be consolidated before the elections, Lim said it was possible, as long as there is commitment and focus on the matter.
“When you have no intent, or your heart is not in it, then no matter how much time you give, it will not happen.
“But if you are able to unite around the common objective of putting a one-to-one fight against Barisan Nasional (BN) or Perikatan Nasional (PN), then it can happen very fast,” Lim said.
“So, I think there should be a congruence of objectives and goals. We hope to make that happen and will try to facilitate that.”
Earlier in his speech, Lim had underscored DAP’s doubling down on its unwillingness to work with PN.
He said his party will not cooperate with former allies in PN after it turned its back on PH in the Sheraton Move.
Lim also chastised “opportunistic” parliamentarians who “committed betrayal” based on offers for posts and funds when the government switched hands from PH to PN in 2020.
“Based on this betrayal, DAP will not cooperate with PN, which betrayed us,” Lim said.
“If you were stabbed in the back once, shame on them (PN); if we allow them to stab us in the back a second time, shame on us.”
Lim said over the next two years after the Sheraton Move, Malaysia was immediately plunged into a crisis involving health, economy, and political stability.
He added that the BN and PN governments must be punished for their “failure” and “incompetence” in managing Covid-19, which caused 4 million infections and more than 34,000 deaths, as well as more than RM500 billion in economic losses from a series of lockdowns. – The Vibes, March 20, 2022
