PAS will be MB if Pakatan wins Johor

(The Star) – Pakatan Rakyat stands a “pretty good chance” of making a breakthrough in Johor in the general election, said DAP election strategist Dr Ong Kian Ming.

He described party adviser Lim Kit Siang’s move to contest in the Gelang Patah constituency in the elections as bold.

“He has made a bold move in wanting to create a Johor tsunami… that he is being followed by outgoing Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong shows that we are definitely serious about wanting to make inroads in Johor.

“PKR and PAS have also named high profile candidates to contest in Johor, and we see our chances as good,” he said in an interview with SwitchUp.tv’s GE13: Showdown programme, hosted by Anne Edwards.

First-term parliamentarian Liew will be contesting the Kluang parliamentary seat, and is expected to lock horns with MCA’s Hou Kok Chung, the outgoing MP.

Meanwhile, Dr Ong believed it was “only natural” that should the Opposition coalition win Johor, a candidate from PAS would become the mentri besar.

“The consensus is that the party which contested the most seats in the state gets to name the mentri besar, and in the case of Johor, that party is PAS,” he said.

Dr Ong also dismissed suggestions that the party would consider teaming up with Barisan Nasional component parties to form the Penang state government should PKR fail to win enough seats there.

“It is a non-starter. We are committed to working with PAS and PKR, and we are confident that both the parties will deliver more seats in the general election,” he said.

On allegations that the Opposition coalition had trained professionals to create chaos during the election, Dr Ong said they were “far from the truth”.

“Pakatan Rakyat does not stand for nor accept political violence by anyone, regardless of our coalition, Barisan Nasional or other parties,” he said.