YOURSAY | ‘PKR’s brand in Sabah taken a hit after Azmin’s betrayal’

YOURSAY | ‘If PKR wants more seats, it must show that it can win them.’

I told Anwar winning polls more important than party’s dignity - Shafie

BusinessFirst: I think caretaker Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal has read the mood correctly. PKR would be lucky to retain the two state seats it won in the last general election (GE).

I think rightly or wrongly, because of the 11 MPs who left the party led by Gombak MP Azmin Ali, PKR is now associated with “frogs”.

Their brand has taken a big hit and I think that in a close election this will dampen the enthusiasm of Warisan Plus supporters to come out and vote for PKR.

The fall of the federal government was due to PKR frogs and it will not be lost on the voters in Sabah that of the two seats won by PKR in the state, one jumped. This does not inspire confidence.

Personally, I predict PKR would lose all the seats it contests simply because the “localisation” feeling is strong in Sabah this election and PKR will be seen as a Semenanjung party. Hopefully, the independents who win in those seats will join Warisan.

DAP's brand in the urban areas is still strong. So I think they will at least hold all their seats. Upko will no doubt hammer PBS and Star on their association with PAS and Semenanjung issues in the non-Muslim bumiputera areas. I think they will do well.

Honestly, among the Muslim bumiputeras, I am not sure. I think it is a close fight. Hence Shafie is right. Every seat counts and better not to waste them on those who are unlikely to win.

GreenViper4010: I don't often agree with Shafie, but in this case, I think he is right. "Winnability" over the "Malay Triad" (nice ring to that!) should be paramount for any/all opposition parties in the run-up to the next GE.

PKR lacks credibility and punch in Sabah. If they want to be allocated more seats, they need to prove they can win them.

Unfortunately, despite all of PKR president Anwar Ibrahim's positive policies and personal struggles, he has not projected sufficient leadership or momentum to justify a large seat allocation.

PKR (and DAP for that matter) needs some long-term bridge-building in East Malaysia, and not only by paying the odd visit during election time.

Also, PKR needs to move away from the "peninsular mindset" that plagues politics across the South China Sea. Beat the Triad!

PurpleJaguar0553: Shafie’s statement makes sense. If PKR wants more seats, it must show that it can win them. It’s no point in asking for more seats and losing them all to Perikatan Nasional (PN).

PKR has further been decimated by Azmin who has taken his support away from PKR and placed them firmly with PN. Azmin, as the number two in his former party, commands considerable grassroots support as seen in the PKR elections.

This too weighs heavily against PKR's ability to perform in Sabah. It is better for PKR to win the seven allocated seats and then build back its strength in Sabah and the rest of Malaysia.

Siva1967: Dear Anwar, I believe this time Shafie is correct. It is not about dignity or number of seats, it’s about compromising and cooperating to oust the warlords and their frogs from the state.

In fact, the same should be adopted at the federal level elections as well. PKR was given eight seats the last time and how many did PKR win?

So stop whining and start working together. This is Warisan's home turf and not PKR's even though PKR members are predominantly Sabahans.

Shafie has governed the state these past years and we trust he knows best on what is required to win this snap election. So please reciprocate and work together.

Constitutional Supremacy: This is absolute leadership by Shafie - focused to win the elections for the betterment of Sabah. PKR had only won two seats previously.

Just imagine if they were allotted 14 seats and they won only two again. PKR then would have given the opposition 12 seats. PKR should now accept the seven seats and try winning all of them than losing all 14 seats it intended to contest.

AnotherKomentar: Anwar and PKR, the Sabah election is not about you or your party’s ambition or redemption, this is about reversing the country from the decay, decline, and destruction of democracy in the hands of the corrupt, kleptocrats, and extremists.

Buckle up, or the wrath of Malaysia’s middle ground will decimate you at the next election.

Heron: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad probably “threw the spanner” at any attempts of collaboration between these two men when he proposed Shafie as prime minister material.

And unfortunately in this present contention about seats in the coming Sabah election, Anwar’s stand comes out looking rather unreasonable if not self-indulgent.

It’s surprising that a politician with his long and agonising experience is doing this at such a crucial time for Pakatan Harapan.

OrangeViper2887: Shafie is overconfident! This state election is not the same as GE14. He is not making a wise decision to allocate fewer seats to PKR. Why? PKR has a big following in Sabah. If the grassroots are unhappy, they may not vote for Warisan.

Shafie is taking the old man’s advice. He managed to rope in DAP and Amanah. This could also destroy Harapan eventually. Anwar will be left out in the cold. The old man has thus achieved his goal of sabotaging Anwar.

But remember that PKR rose to this level from scratch with the reformasi awakening. PKR now is the only party with principles. The others are all looking for the gravy train.

GrayHawk8513: @OrangeViper2887, I’m a Sabahan and I agree with you that after Selangor, Sabah has the largest number of PKR members. But most of them are Azmin’s people.

Mushiro: Warisan did not win a majority in the last election and had to depend on frogs to form the Sabah state government in 2018.

Then, within a week after former chief minister Musa Aman was freed from corruption charges, he bought frogs from Warisan to topple the Warisan state government.

So how come Shafie has suddenly become a big-time adviser about winning the Sabah election when he could not even keep his state assemblypersons in his Warisan government?

What guarantee can Shafie give for the new Warisan assemblypersons not to frog jump again to PN after the results are announced?

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has all the government money to tempt the Warisan frogs. Shafie should be realistic to understand sentiments on the ground and coalition party politics.

ScarletPanda9731: What dignity are we talking about? Umno, PAS, and Bersatu talk about dignity. DAP and Amanah talk about dignity. PN talks about dignity. Upko talks about dignity. Pejuang, waiting for registration, also talks about dignity. Yes, I forgot, even political frogs talk about dignity.

Is it dignity when you steal other people's money? Is it dignity when you refuse to repay loans? It is dignity when you beg for positions? Is it dignity when you discriminate others? Is it dignity when you illegitimately seize power? Is it dignity when you do not honour your word, written or verbal? Define dignity. - Mkini