'We have the numbers' - Loke revisits Fuziah's 'red face' presser

 

Before the official Sabah election results, PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh jumped the gun with a press conference, declaring Pakatan Harapan and its ally Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) had enough seats to form the state government.

The bold move quickly became fodder for ridicule. At the time, Harapan had only won two of its 22 contested seats. This was later reduced to a single seat, and that too delivered by a GRS parachute candidate, following the official count.

In an interview with Chinese-language YouTube channel “The Keywords”, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke - whose party was wiped out in all eight seats it contested - was asked whether Fuziah had cleared the move with DAP.

Loke said DAP was in the dark about the press conference, which he described as “the wrong approach”.

“Such an announcement should not have been made; this is an announcement that invites ridicule. Firstly, you only have one seat. What are you talking about, forming a state government?

“Furthermore, the formation of the state government should have been done by the largest party, the one that won the most seats, which is GRS,” he said, adding that GRS chairperson Hajiji Noor should have been the one to make the call.

GRS chief Hajiji Noor being sworn in as the Sabah chief minister

Loke drew a parallel to the formation of the federal government after the last general election, where the announcements came from Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim, who eventually became prime minister.

When pressed on whether Fuziah’s press conference was driven by a desire to snag a spot in the state government, Loke declined to speculate.

“I don’t know the reason, but I feel this is an announcement that should not have been made,” he added, concurring with the interviewer that the move was damaging to Harapan’s image.

DAP won’t let govt collapse

The Sabah state election was a rude awakening for Harapan, particularly DAP, which saw its once-reliable Chinese support - a key votebank - erode.

PM Anwar Ibrahim with DAP leaders

In the same interview, Loke said DAP has given Anwar six months to initiate reforms, failing which, it would reassess its position in the Madani government.

However, he stressed that DAP, holding 40 parliamentary seats, would not pull its support for the prime minister, warning that doing so would hurl the nation into political turmoil. - Mkini