Pakatan counting on Sabah and Sarawak

DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) chief Anthony Loke is upbeat on Pakatan taking over Putrajaya in the upcoming general election should the three-party coalition manage to win 10 to 20 extra seats in Sabah and Sarawak.

Speaking at a DAP fund-raising dinner in Kepong last night, Loke (left) said Pakatan needs at least 30 additional seats to boost the 82 seats it won in the last election so that it can form the federal government.

"To do that, we need to win 10 to 20 seats more in Johor, Melacca and Negeri Sembilan.

"But what is more important is Sabah and Sarawak. We must be able to get 10 to 20 seats in these two states," he told a crowd of about 1500 during the dinner themed "Regime Change, Bid Farewell to Corruption".

Parliament is made up of 222 seats. Thus the mininum simple majority would be 112 seats.

The Rasah MP then called on the Kepong folks, particularly those in the business line, to spread the message of change across to friends from other states in a consolidated effort to topple the BN.

Kepong has been the DAP's fortress under current MP Tan Seng Giaw since 1982.

Apologise to Teoh's family'

 In his 45-minute speech, Loke also took a jab on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's apology last month for BN's past mistakes, asking him to first apologise to the family members of deceased DAP member Teoh Beng Hock.

 "There is a Chinese saying said ‘never shed tears until the coffin is reached'. BN is in such a desperate situation that they are now forced to apologise.

"But if they are truly sincere, they should first apologise to the family of Teoh Beng Hock," he said.

The dinner was also attended by Pakatan top guns such as PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, DAP Selangor vice chairman Teng Chang Kim, election publicity chief Hew Kuan Yew, DAPSY deputy chief Jenice Lee Ying Ha, and Tan.

Taken for a ride

Anwar, when addressing the crowd, sneered at BN's notion that Anwar would be taken for a ride by DAP if Pakatan is voted into power.

"The question is, who is being taken for a ride, and who is making a cow of the rakyat?" he said, referring to the National Feedlot Centre controversy.

"A leader should be made used by the rakyat. What is the problem?

"But if you are making a cow of the rakyat and ask them to continue support you, then it's a problem," he quipped.

Meanwhile, Hadi Awang (right) in his speech brought out the concept that human activities are interlinked and no man was an island.

"Every ethnic group has its own qualities. If we managed to integrate the strengths of everyone, we can build a strong force.

"To do that, we can't allow racism or race-based parties to continue existing in our country,"

The Marang MP also reiterated that the implementation of hudud will not impact on the life of non-Muslims.