Johor DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong said that the motion by the Islamist party to sever ties with DAP without debate at its recent congress has set the stage for the realignment of Malaysian politics beyond the dynamics of PAS.
He also said that PAS was not concerned about winning federal power as the conservatives in the party were prepared to accept ruling party Umno's continuous rule.
In contrast, said Liew, the progressives had become a force in PAS after the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, and aspired to defeat Umno.
"As it is realistic to expect PAS not to win enough seats on its own to form the federal government, cooperation with DAP via a consensus-based common policy platform is deemed the pragmatic route," he said in a statement today.
But with the defeat of the progressives and the motion to cut ties with DAP, new scenarios have arisen, he added.
Liew, the Kluang MP, said this included the unhappiness with the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Umno which was getting more widespread given the prime minister's economic policies, including the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax as well as the scandal involving debt-ridden state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
These, he said were shaping up the potential of a Malay tsunami.
In addition, Liew said that Sabah and Sarawak were also disappointed with long-term neglect by Putrajaya and wary of hardline Islamists, which was fuelling anti-federal and anti-Umno sentiments.
"The hard-line stance on various issues relating to Islam taken by PAS conservatives will mean that voters in Sabah, Sarawak and non-Muslims would not trust the hard-liners in PAS," he said.
He added that conservatives in the Islamist party advocating closer relations with Umno when anti-Najib and anti-Umno sentiments were building up will also result in PAS losing its middle ground Malay support.
In this scenario, Liew said DAP Johor will attempt to be the rallying point of all anti-Umno forces to defeat the ruling party.
He said the state branch will ensure that DAP was part of the anticipated realignment in Malaysian politics.
"With two-thirds of the parliamentary seats in Johor being multi-ethnic in nature, DAP must break out from the existing constraints to secure support from non-Malay voters, but also make the DAP the party of choice for Malay voters in urban and semi-urban settings," Liew said.
- TMI
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