Cold war in Pakatan

(The Star) – “Let’s be rational. When you talk about next year, that is not feasible. At present, it is not possible to talk about next year as it has to be done quickly when it comes to elections.”

DAP wants snap elections to be held in Penang. And it’s not willing to wait too long.

Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the polls should be held within a reasonable time frame and to be done quickly.

“Let’s be rational. When you talk about next year, that is not feasible. At present, it is not possible to talk about next year as it has to be done quickly when it comes to elections.

“I do not think it is feasible unless there are new developments or circumstances, but I think for now, it has to be decided quickly as matters should not be left hanging,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Pressed for a time frame on how long he was willing to wait for PKR to come to a decision on the snap polls, Lim stressed that the public should not speculate.

He said he would be meeting with PKR leaders as soon as possible to avoid prolonging the matter as it was “not ethical”.

PKR is still not convinced over the purpose of having the snap polls.

Its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said after a party central leadership council meeting on Tuesday that they had came up with the decision after taking into account the opinions of civil society.

Lim, who is also Penang Chief Minister, reiterated yesterday that the DAP would not be making a unilateral decision on the matter but through consensus.

“We hope we can continue to discuss with and convince our friends in Pakatan Harapan based on mutual respect and trust.

“We should not follow the old practice where you give an eye for an eye. If we adopt this practice, then in the end you will leave everybody blind,” he added.

Asked about speculations that DAP wanted to have the snap polls as it was not confident about winning in the next general election, Lim said: “If we do not have confidence in winning the election now, how can we have the confidence in winning two years from now?”