Kit Siang: Melaka and Sarawak elections a fatal blow to DAP
He said the move is aimed at capitalising on people’s disappointment at the short-lived Pakatan Harapan government
(Ktemoc Konsiders) – DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has warned that the upcoming Malacca and Sarawak elections are aimed at delivering a fatal blow against his party.
He said the move is aimed at capitalising on people’s disappointment at the short-lived Pakatan Harapan government and also worry about voting during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the double concerns could see turnout as low as under 40 percent in the twin polls.
“In these circumstances, the DAP faces the existential threat of either being wiped out or suffering a fatal blow to its Malaysian Dream of building a united and prosperous multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural country, which is a world-class great nation in important fields of human endeavour after leveraging on the best values and virtues of the four great civilisations of the world,” he said in a statement.
Lim blamed the hardliners in Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government for pushing the twin polls during the pandemic.
He claimed that if the outcome of the twin polls is favourable towards the ruling federal coalition, it could abandon the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the opposition and call for an early election.
“The hardliners in the Ismail Sabri government, who want Malacca and Sarawak elections this year and believe that there is a possibility of wiping out the DAP or delivering a fatal blow to the party, have won over the moderates who want to uphold the confidence-supply-reform MOU and delay elections.
“If the hardliners succeed in proving themselves right, then they will have powerful arguments to ditch the CSR MOU and have the 15th general election early next year.
“This is food for thought for DAP leaders, members and supporters whether in the country or in the Malaysian Diaspora,” he said.
The Malacca state election is set to take place on Nov 20 while the Sarawak state election must be held within 60 days from Nov 3.
‘What’s the rush?’
Meanwhile, Sarawak PKR Youth questioned Sarawak’s rush in holding fresh polls, pointing out that, unlike Malacca, it had until Feb 2 next year to hold the election.
The Malacca state election was called after incumbent state chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali sought a dissolution of the state assembly to stave off an attempt to bring down his government.
The dissolution of the Sarawak state assembly was postponed through a localised emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Sarawak government had sought the emergency to be lifted before its expiry in Feb 2022.
“Sarawak Youth sees the true reason GPS wants to hold the state election this year is to avoid the implementation of Undi18,” said Sarawak PKR Youth chief Saifunnizam Sam and his deputy Chiew Choon Man.
“PKR Youth is also disappointed that the Sarawak chief minister has prioritised political manoeuvring over the people’s interest,” they said.
They stressed that the real enemy is not any political group but Covid-19 which has been disastrous for the country.
