KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan (PH) should remain open to talks and negotiations with opposition parties outside the coalition to increase chances of winning the next general election, said its secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Saifuddin, who is also PKR secretary-general, suggested that the “big tent” approach among opposition parties is still viable given the current political landscape.
He said the current scenario prevents any single party or coalition, including Barisan Nasional (BN), from being able to individually claim victory in the national polls.
Speaking to The Vibes ahead of his run for the PKR deputy presidential post next month, he said one would not need a high education with political scientists to understand the current situation.
Saifuddin, who is contesting against PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli for the number two post, has been at loggerheads with the former Pandan MP lately over the issue of cooperation with other opposition parties outside PH.
The Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP said conversations with some Umno leaders saw them admit that they did not have the popular vote in the recent Melaka and Johor elections as only 40% of voters had supported BN, while the remaining 60% were in favour of others.
If 60% (of voters) rejected them, the remaining 40% had allowed them to rule with a two-thirds majority. It’s simply because the opposition is split.
“Under the current circumstances, going solo is not an option. Secondly, I am only saying that we are taking an open-ended approach to discussions.”
Last week, Saifuddin said PH’s open-ended approach to talks was decided during a retreat in Port Dickson last year.
On Sunday, Rafizi – who opposes the big-tent strategy – said “time cannot be wasted” on negotiations with other parties, as the opposition should regain the trust of the people.
Similarly, DAP’s top leadership has also rejected the possibility of cooperating with those involved in the infamous Sheraton Move that saw the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020.
In response, Saifuddin reminded Rafizi that negotiations with other parties such as Bersatu and its then-leader Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad prior to the 2018 election had allowed the opposition to wrest Putrajaya.
Nevertheless, Saifuddin said he understood that some PH component parties such as DAP would be reluctant to cooperate with Bersatu following the fallout in early 2020, which saw PH lose power to Bersatu-led Perikatan Nasional.
“Of course during negotiations, traitors and those who broke promises will be present alongside kleptocrats. There’s no denying that.
“But we never said we will be holding discussions with traitors or those who broke their promises. In today’s political scenario, there is no single coalition or party that can claim to be the strongest and rule on their own.”
However, Saifuddin said the matter was still at the exploratory and ideation stage with no concrete talks or negotiations taking place.
I’m not affirmatively saying that we are prepared to discuss (cooperation) with Bersatu or PAS because we do not know whether they may have their own dynamics on their side.”
He said this stance was crucial due to the possibility that the general election can be called in as early as three months’ time.
Saifuddin added that the opposition has the option of maintaining the status quo, which is to “keep quiet and do nothing” and expect results similar to Johor and Melaka, or to remain open to anything.
“When I said we are open to talks, I am sending a clear message to outsiders that if we reach common ground, we can stop Umno and kleptocrats, (and) we can return to power. Can we all agree on this?
“If the answer is ‘yes’, what’s stopping us from talking? That’s all I am saying. Talks can succeed or fail, but at least we’re open to it.” – The Vibes, April 27, 2022
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