You must be out of your mind, Zaid tells Mahathir
(MMO) – Datuk Zaid Ibrahim today disagreed with his comrades in Save Malaysia and several opposition leaders that Pakatan Harapan should give way to PAS to defeat Barisan Nasional (BN) in straight fights in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections.
The former lawmaker said he could not understand how such a formula would sit well with Pakatan Harapan when PAS and its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang have in the past indicated close ties with BN and its chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
He also reminded the Pakatan Harapan of PAS’s conservative and hardline Islamist stance on matters like child marriage and gender equality, and even more significantly, its push to implement hudud, an issue that once tore the opposition pact apart.
“You want PAS instead of the BN? You must be out of your mind.
“How on earth can we support such a party? If it’s just to see the BN defeated and the Prime Minister embarrassed by such an outcome, then I say, think again. It’s foolish and serves no useful purpose,” Zaid wrote in his latest blog posting.
Yesterday, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan said the opposition should only field one candidate in both the looming by-elections and that it did not matter if the person was from PAS.
Dr Mahathir, who was speaking at a Save Malaysia event, said this is to enable voters there to ensure their undivided support for the opposition and send a message to the federal administration that they no longer back Najib.
“But the opposition must make sure the fight is one on one with BN,” he added.
Ambiga, a prominent lawyer and activist, echoed the sentiment and pledged the support of civil society leaders to the fractured opposition if their leaders reached a consensus for a one-on-one battle in the two parliamentary seats.
According to Zaid, however, a straight fight between PAS and BN would only result in the latter party winning both seats.
He pointed out that both PAS and BN were now on friendly terms and said Hadi would not want to embarrass the “supreme leader”.
“The BN will come out smiling. It is, after all, a by-election and the BN will mobilise all of its considerable resources and will surely win with a bigger majority than the last election,” he said.
He added that a PAS victory, on the other hand, would not mean anything to Pakatan Harapan’s struggle as the Islamist party ultimately “serves BN’s interest”.
The credibility of the Opposition is more important than a superficial win by PAS,” he said.
Malay Mail Online reported last weekend that the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections could result in three-way fight with BN and a fractured opposition front.
A PKR leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a three-cornered fight involving PKR, BN and PAS may take place in Sungai Besar, Selangor, while another similar three-way battle could occur in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, with Amanah, BN and PAS all throwing their hats in the ring.
The Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar seats fell vacant after the deaths of their respective MPs, Datuk Wan Muhammad Khairil Anuar Wan Ahmad and Datuk Noriah Kasnon, who were among six people killed in a recent helicopter crash in Sarawak.
The Election Commission announced last week that both the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections will take place on June 18.
In Election 2013, Wan Muhammad Khairil won Kuala Kangsar with a majority of 1,082 votes, while Noriah retained Sungai Besar with a slim 399-vote majority.
