‘Capturing Putrajaya is mission impossible’

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu says Pakatan may win more seats in the next election but it would be difficult to topple BN.

GEORGE TOWN: PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu says Pakatan Rakyat taking over Putrajaya is like “mission impossible”.

He said Pakatan would do better than the 2008 general election but he acknowledged toppling Barisan Nasional would be difficult.

“Honestly speaking, we face a difficult battle. It’s an uphill task.

“It’s easier said than done,” the Pakatan leader, commonly known as Mat Sabu, told FMT during the DAP fund-raising dinner at Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) in Bayan Baru last night.

DAP collected RM500,000 from the 300-table fund-raising dinner, which is the first part of the party’s 60-day battle plan for the 13th general election in Penang.

DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Chow Kon Yeow, and PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar were present among the large crowd.

Mat Sabu forecasts that Pakatan would need to win some 20 to 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah and Sarawak if the coalition were to knock BN off its perch.

But for now, he predicts Pakatan winning only between 10 and 15 seats in those states, particularly in urban areas like Kuching, Sibu, Miri, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan.

He said Umno’s divide-and-rule policy based on racist politics since independence was deep-rooted, especially among the rural voters.

He said the Malays’ belief in Umno that it could protect their interests and rights was so ingrained that it was virtually an impossible task to convince the community not to be sceptical about Pakatan.

He also said BN lived and strived over rural poverty by constantly providing piecemeal solutions to win voter in interior areas.

He said Pakatan may be able to make inroads and win more seats in Felda settlements, Sabah and Sarawak.

When asked on his election forecast, he predicted that Pakatan would again deny BN the parliamentary two-thirds majority, and retaining the state governments of Penang and Kelantan.

He, however, conceded that BN would retain Pahang and Perlis state governments.

He said Pakatan would face tough battles to retain Kedah and Selangor and recapture Perak.

He added that Pakatan has a good chance of capturing Negri Sembilan and Terengganu and denying BN its two-thirds majority in Johor and Malacca State Legislative Assemblies.

“But we have to work really hard to secure all these wins,” said Mat Sabu.