GEORGE TOWN – The inability to hold many social interaction campaigns in last Saturday’s Melaka polls was among the factors contributing to Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) defeat, said DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng.
He said the lack of face-to-face meetings with the voters crippled PH, especially when campaigners needed to abide by the standard operating procedures set by the Election Commission.
While congratulating Barisan Nasional (BN) for its win, Lim said PH needs to learn from its mistakes there and focus on future “battles”.
BN won with a two-third majority in the Melaka election, wiping out PH and Perikatan Nasional garnering 21 out of the 28 seats.
“PH needs to rectify our outreach, especially in terms of our social media campaigning. We need to make it more effective in reaching out to voters. We also need the traditional form of face-to-face campaigning.
“Although we are disappointed, we must not give up and continue our fight because politics is not something temporary but a continuous struggle,” he told reporters outside the Penang High Court complex today.
Lim was attending the proceedings of his defamation suit against former Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow concerning a news article on Pulau Jerejak.
Later, it was settled in court when Teng apologised to Lim to end the long-standing suit through a consent judgement.
Lim had sued Teng over allegations made on the sale of state-owned land at Pulau Jerejak in 2016.
In the statement of apology and retraction shared by Lim, Teng apologised to Lim and retracted the impugned statements made at a press conference on November 15, 2016, which were later published in The Star, Guang Ming Daily and Sin Chew Daily.
Teng also regretted the hardship and difficulties caused to Lim due to the publications.
Teng’s lawyer, Harpal Singh reportedly also said that he would extend a written apology to Lim.
Lim took Teng to court in 2016 for claiming that Lim had caused the state investment arm Penang Development Corporation to lose a RM220 million profit by turning down a joint venture deal on the sale of land in Pulau Jerejak. – The Vibes, November 22, 2021
