Ask Salahuddin why talks with Warisan, Pejuang failed, says Guan Eng
(FMT) – DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng says Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub was tasked with leading discussions with other opposition parties like Pejuang and Warisan for the Johor polls, though this proved unsuccessful.
In a press conference here today, Lim said Salahuddin was among the key leaders tasked with holding negotiations with these parties.
“So Salahuddin, among other leaders, was the conduit to communicate with these parties as part of Pakatan Harapan’s ‘big tent’ approach.
“But it apparently didn’t bear fruit,” he said.
Asked why negotiations were unsuccessful, Lim said the question should be posed to Salahuddin instead.
Pejuang previously announced that it was going to contest in 42 seats on its own, and Warisan today unveiled its candidates for six seats. The two parties will clash with PH in multiple constituencies.
Lim said Malaysia was a democratic country which meant that anyone was entitled to contest, though admitting there was concern that the entrance of multiple opposition parties in the same seats would split their votes and instead benefit their opponents.
“Even though (Warisan) is from Sabah, they’re Malaysian, so they’re allowed to come to Peninsular Malaysia to contest.
“We will leave it to Johoreans to decide if this party is worth their support and if they have been consistently fighting for their rights, or if they only come in during elections, not before elections.
“Let the people see whether this is to strengthen the opposition or Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional.”
Don’t politicise education, Lim tells Najib
Lim also hit out at Najib Razak for a recent visit to Foon Yew High School in Johor Bahru, telling the former prime minister not to politicise education or try to fish for votes in schools.
He said PH could easily trumpet what it did for schools nationwide during its tenure in Putrajaya, but did not do so because it would be unethical.
“Education and politics must be separated. Whatever he did for schools was his responsibility as the education minister at the time.”
He maintained that schools were a place for students to acquire knowledge and skills, adding that the education sector needed to be democratised and reformed.
Najib had visited the secondary school yesterday, with the management committee showing him around the premises.
The Pekan MP had also said the demand for Chinese vernacular schools should be respected as parents had the right to choose the type of education they wanted for their children.
