KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Tanjung Piai by-election defeat can be taken as either the beginning of the end of the coalition or an opportunity to start fresh, said Johor DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong.
Liew said the coalition’s massive lost is an earthquake no less, but it is also a watershed moment for Malaysian politics.
“The harder part begins now. We will have to figure out what lessons we can draw from the election result as it will have a huge implication on what action we will take subsequently.
“Each action will lead to further reactions and consequences,” Liew said during a thanksgiving do with DAP election volunteers today.
Yesterday, Barisan National’s (BN) Wee Jeck Seng won the Tanjung Piai by-election with a landslide victory by a majority of 15,086 votes against PH’s Karmaine Sardinie.
Liew added that the party’s thanksgiving dinner is the first session for him and the state leadership to listen to the views of members post by-election.
“The DAP leadership will tour the state and nation to listen to views to chart the steps ahead.
“It is my hope that the listening tour by leaders will result in some form of a ‘new deal’ and a turnaround plan for execution in 2020 to regain public confidence,” he said.
He also reminded PH that there is a need to search for a common purpose now and that the coalition must accept that the democratic uprising on May 9 May 2018 means that everyone feels that they have full democratic rights to vote for anyone, and there are no fixed deposits for anyone.
“Almost everyone is a swing-voter.
“Let’s hope that we can all draw the right lessons from the defeat and to create a fresh start and a new deal for the PH government and for the nation,” he said.
Malay Mail
Don’t let Tg Piai be beginning of Pakatan’s end, says Chin Tong
FOLLOWING its crushing defeat in Tanjung Piai, Pakatan Harapan now risks being seen as a government that must be replaced immediately, said Liew Chin Tong.
The Johor DAP chairman said Umno and PAS will exploit Malays’ antipathy to DAP and argue that the Muafakat Nasional partnership between Barisan Nasional and the Islamist party makes for a better governance model.
MCA, meanwhile, will keep pushing the notion that its arch-rival has sold itself out to Bersatu, he said.
“Such racial framing is dangerous, and was proven in the Tg Piai by-election, which PH lost on both the Malay and non-Malay fronts.
“We need to search for a common purpose. We must accept that the democratic uprising on May 9 last year means that everyone feels that they have full democratic rights to vote for anyone, and there aren’t fixed deposits for anyone. Almost everyone is a swing voter,” he told DAP’s Tg Piai by-election volunteers at an appreciation dinner tonight.
He said PH needs a common Malaysian narrative to assure all the races that none is under siege.
Failure to put forward such a narrative can lead to race-based opinions that give rise to public anger, he warned.
“Let’s draw the right lessons from this defeat, and create a fresh start and new deal for the PH government and nation,” said Liew, adding that the hard part begins now.
“This devastating defeat is either going to be the beginning of the end of the PH government as we know it, or provide us with an opportunity to have a new beginning for the better.
“The DAP leadership will tour the nation to listen to the people’s views and chart the steps ahead. I believe the PH leadership will also plan a similar tour.”
Last night, BN’s Wee Jeck Seng was declared the winner of the Tg Piai contest with a 15,086-vote majority.
The MCA man got 25,466 votes, while his closest competition, PH’s Karmaine Sardini, polled 10,380.
Gerakan’s Wendy Subramaniam won 1,707 votes, Berjasa’s Badhrulhisham Abdul Aziz (850), and independents Ang Chuan Lock (380) and Faridah Aryani Abd Ghaffar (32).
The by-election was called following the death of Dr Md Farid Md Rafik, 42, on September 21 due to heart complications. He had won the seat for PH in last year’s 14th general election.
– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/
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