Pakatan lost, but not defeated
Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew
Although Pakatan Rakyat has failed to achieve the regime change target in the 13th general election, the next general election would be more favourable if it ploughs its political fields deeper in multiracial areas.
It seems that Pakatan Rakyat has suffered a setback and some of its leaders might not be able to sustain for another five years due to their age. The whole pattern, however, allows Pakatan Rakyat to expand its political map if the BN fails to implement more reforms.
First of all, Pakatan Rakyat obtained 51.4 per cent of popular vote while BN gained only 48.6 per cent. This is due to a wide voter population in some constituencies. As urbanisation has been accelerated, BN’s advantage in rural areas would be gradually reduced.
Secondly, the number of young voters has increased.
There were 2.6 million new voters this year. Given this figure, in another five years, together with another group of new voters and a lower number of old voters, Pakatan Rakyat would still be in the favourable position.
Thirdly, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s retirement has reflected the emergence of young leaders in Pakatan Rakyat.
BN would be unable to demarcate constituencies according to its own preference, including some states where it has lost the ruling advantage, after failing to gain a two-thirds majority in Parliament. In addition, BN must also find a way to fight for the support of urban voters, young voters and non-Malay voters, or it would not be able to make headway in the long run.
It is a normal phenomenon to have voices accusing Chinese voters after the election. However, racialising the election result is not conducive to BN’s effort in restoring public confidence. It is believed that BN leaders who have a clear understanding of the overall situation would suppress the voices and continue the pace of democratisation.
From the election result, although the DAP is the big winner among the three component parties of Pakatan Rakyat, while PAS has suffered a setback, they did not lose their bases. Instead, they have gained more state seats in Penang, Kelantan and Selangor.
The three component parties of Pakatan Rakyat have their respective states and are expanding their influence to neighbouring areas. It is consistent with the idea of equal status. Theoretically, it will be difficult for BN to regain Penang and Selangor as long as Pakatan Rakyat is able to rule the states for two terms to consolidate its power.
The DAP won 10 more parliamentary seats while the PKR and PAS lost one and two seats respectively. It is a pity that liberal leaders in PAS have been defeated, like party deputy president Mohamad Sabu, vice-president Datuk Husam Musa and Salahuddin Ayub. However, with its strong grassroots PAS should be able to revive.
PAS’s performance is not as good as expected mainly because it was defeated in Kedah. It lost five parliamentary seats in Kedah due to the return of votes to Umno, the previous PAS state government’s poor governance and party internal problems.
It is favourable to Pakatan Rakyat as the political situation in some states has changed. For instance, Pakatan Rakyat won five parliamentary seats and 18 state seats in Johor, three parliamentary seats and 11 state seats in Sabah and four parliamentary seats and 12 state seats in Pahang, breaking the BN’s deposit statehood. Pakatan Rakyat has also set off a wind of anti-establishment among the Kadazan, Dusun, and Murut communities in Sabah. At the same time, BN lost the two-thirds majority advantage and was able to win Terengganu and Perak by a narrow margin.
Therefore, Pakatan Rakyat has made a big improvement in Sunday’s election. It should now play a supervisory role and professionally perform its task, while looking forward to the next general election.
If Pakatan Rakyat has evidence of electoral fraud, it should bring it to the courts and fight through legal channels. Reducing street protests will be more conducive to its efforts of securing support.
A healthy competition between the two coalitions would be a blessing for the country and its people.
