What kind of friend is DAP?

Sin Chew Daily

Nurul Izzah says Umno is set to gain in a Penang snap election.

She can’t be more right. Let’s first start with the numbers.

DAP won all the 19 contested seats last time, and will do the same this time.

Gerakan and MCA will still be empty-handed at the end of the race.

Last time Umno contested 15 seats, won ten and lost four to PKR (Seberang Jaya, Penanti, Sungai Bakap and Batu Maung) and one to PAS (Permatang Pasir).

PKR won these seats with razor-thin majorities and mostly on the support of the Chinese who voted for them overwhelmingly.

In the next election, if the turnout is not high, PKR may lose these seats. Coupled with the participation of PAS whose president has said will run in all the state seats, the Malays who voted for Pakatan Rakyat last time may go for PAS now, in the event of a three-cornered fight.

In Permatang Pasir which PAS won three years ago, if Amanah were to come in and dilute the opposition votes, Umno may claim the seat in the end.

Umno’s seats may rise from ten to 15.

The answer is clear, Umno will be the ultimate gainer in the snap polls while PKR is the biggest loser.

PKR not only will lose the seats, it will also lose its multiracial characteristics.

The party is truly multiracial in Penang, Of the ten seats it won, five are Malay reps, four are Chinese and one is Indian.

If all the Malay candidates are defeated this time, the party can only look to the Chinese for survival.

DAP has rushed through the decision to call a snap election just because of one particular individual and family, without taking into consideration the needs of its allies.

What kind of friend is that, in Tony Pua’s own words?

To DAP, it doesn’t matter if PKR loses several seats so long as the state administration remains intact. It could even be a blessing in disguise!

So long as PKR still has some influences in the state, it will effectively check the power of DAP.

In the recent land reclamation incident, the abstention of five PKR reps infuriated CM Lim, and two of them subsequently lost their state agency director posts.

If PKR loses a few seats in the next election, perhaps they will act more cautiously next time so that the DAP-led state government can get things done more easily.

As for the increased Umno presence in the state assembly, that’s not going to be a bad thing after all, as it will deepen the sense of crisis among the local Chinese who will then throw their full support behind DAP in an attempt to protect the state administration.

That will render the efforts by Gerakan and MCA completely futile, no matter how hard they try.

DAP needs only Chinese votes. So long as Chinese Penangites continue to hate Umno, the DAP administration can be perpetuated.

In a similar manner, so long as the Malays in Penang continue to hate DAP and CM Lim, the more will they cling to Umno.

PKR will only become irrelevant.