Guan Eng zips lips on working with Dr M’s new party pending Pakatan meet

(MMO)  DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is keeping a tight lid on the possibility his party may collaborate with their former political adversaries to take on the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election, following Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s announcement of a new party in the making.

While Opposition Leader and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has cautiously said her party is willing to consider cooperation with the new unnamed party, Lim said today he will wait for the Pakatan Harapan presidential council to meet before weighing in.

“The presidential council will meet and issue a statement,” the Bagan MP was quoted by news portal Malaysiakini as telling reporters after attending Teoh Beng Hock’s seventh death anniversary memorial at the Nirvana Memorial Park in Semenyih.

“Anyone can set up a party in a democratic country, but we also need to look at the party’s main purpose,” he added.

The report did not mention a meeting date for the opposition Pakatan Harapan presidential council, which comprises the top leaders of DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara, the latter which has also yet to comment on Dr Mahathir’s new party.

Last Thursday, former prime minister Dr Mahathir confirmed that he will be a founding member of a new political party that will ally with Pakatan Harapan to ensure straight fights against the BN ruling coalition in the coming general elections.

The announcement followed the opposition’s defeat in the May 7 Sarawak election as well as the two June 18 by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar, which some have attributed to Amanah and PAS both running against BN instead of keeping it a straight fight.

Opposition leaders have also acknowledged that they face a tough road ahead with Dr Mahathir’s new party and a difficult reconciliation with PAS, but insist that they will get the job done to end the BN’s undefeated rule in the country.