Perak Pakatan’s hopes depend on Amanah, says DAP

Youth leader says PAS must not be allowed to tap into old Pakatan Rakyat support base.

(FMT) – Pakatan Harapan’s hopes of gaining power in Perak will rest on the growth of Parti Amanah Negara, and PAS must not be allowed to make use of the old Pakatan Rakyat support base, a DAP leader said today.

Perak DAP secretary Wong Kah Woh, who is Youth leader, said Amanah would need to grow quickly in the next two years so that it could defeat Umno.

For Amanah to grow, PAS should not be allowed to continue using the Pakatan platform or original support base of Pakatan Rakyat, he said.

The Pakatan Rakyat coalition, comprising DAP, PKR and PAS, won power in Perak in 2008 before being brought down by defections.

A new coalition, Pakatan Harapan, comprising DAP, PKR and Amanah, was formed last year after differences between DAP and PAS led to Pakatan Rakyat’s collapse and the formation of Amanah from breakaway PAS members.

Wong cautioned that PAS would try to block Amanah’s growth. Speaking at an election forum in Setiawan on Saturday, he urged Amanah members to strengthen their service campaign, reaching out to the rakyat through local council work and other means.

“The success in Perak will depend on how quickly Amanah can fill the vacuum left by PAS,” he was quoted as saying.

He believed that Amanah leaders were too optimistic about winning three-cornered contests against PAS and Umno. “It cannot be achieved without a miracle,” he said.

Wong said Pakatan strategy of campaigning in all 59 seats in Perak in 2013 had been unwise, leaving the coalition too stretched, whereas the Barisan Nasional had concentrated on 34 seats with an aim of victory in 31 or 32.

BN regained power in Perak by winning 31 seats for a majority of three in the 59-member state assembly.