Only a DAP-Amanah Opposition pact ‘believable’, says Zaid

Former minister says the two parties have a close affinity with each other and should only maintain a "loose arrangement" with PKR.

PETALING JAYA: After the disappointing squabble over seats between DAP and PKR in view of the Sarawak election next month, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim now feels that the only “believable” Opposition pact would be one between DAP and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) minus PKR.

He said this was the third time DAP elder Lim Kit Siang has had to “grovel” and apologise to the people for friction among those within the Opposition pact, the first being the 13th General Election in 2013 and later when PAS exited Pakatan Rakyat.

“The Opposition has always been fractious but to show its penchant for disunity in the way it has in the Sarawak election is unforgivable,” Zaid wrote in his blog today.

“The best hope for a truly believable Opposition pact is between DAP and Amanah. The two parties have a close affinity and should constitute the core Opposition,” Zaid suggested, confident that discussions on seat allocation between the two would be “more meaningful” as there was a higher chance both would honour any arrangements agreed upon.

He said the DAP-Amanah pact could maintain a “loose arrangement” with PKR although he advised against forming any future electoral pacts as these were a waste of time and would likely only lead to “worse acrimony”, something Barisan Nasional would use to their advantage.

Zaid also voiced his reservations over PKR, saying it was a party that believed one of its leaders i.e. Anwar Ibrahim, would be the next prime minister should Umno exit the political scene.

He also said PKR was however divided in that while Nurul Izzah, Rafizi Ramli and Saifuddin Nasution would likely have “important key positions” should Anwar become PM, there was already another group within the party led by its deputy president Azmin Ali who already believed the party was under their control, and that it was they who would make key decisions and not anyone else.

“PKR under Azmin will be flexible and it is not inconceivable that PKR+PAS or PKR+Umno deserters will be on the menu for the consideration of voters,” Zaid predicted.

Political pacts aside, Zaid said politicians should start offering Malaysians a credible political platform that took the interests of the people to heart, and added, “They need only form alliances with a view towards forming a government after they have obtained the mandate of the people when the General Election results are known.”

He said there was no need for Opposition politicians to follow the BN formula of “ganging up to win as many seats as possible” regardless of the individual party’s manifestos.