New battle tough for Pakatan

The opposition needs a new winning strategy, says Pakatan.

PETALING JAYA: The Merlimau by-election will be a tough battle for Pakatan Rakyat, according to at least two opposition leaders.

Like Tenang in Johor, Merlimau, a Malacca-state seat, is a Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold.

PAS supreme council member Dzulkefly Ahmad and DAP Youth leader Anthony Loke said Pakatan leaders should learn from the opposition’s defeat in Tenang and find a new winning strategy.

For instance, said Dzulkefly, PAS should start thinking of being more selective in choosing the areas to contest in.

“You can choose your battles,” he said.

“Of course, you get to test new ground and strengthen the party machinery during polls, but there is a price to pay, which is the morale of the members.”

And BN would exploit the drop in morale to attack the motivation of opposition members and supporters, he added.

Nevertheless, said the Kuala Selangor MP, Pakatan members should continue to work as a cohesive unit and not as members of separate political parties.

“In Tenang, PAS and DAP members worked hand in hand during the campaigning period. As a result, we got between 65% and 70% of the Chinese votes despite Labis being MCA’s stronghold.”

Loke said Pakatan should improve its political messaging, especially when approaching Malay voters.

“In Tenang, Umno convinced the Malays that their future would be at stake if Pakatan won,” he said.

“We need to assure the Malays that their interest will be taken care of.”

Uphill task

Dzukefly said Pakatan campaigners must be more articulate in speaking of the achievements of states ruled by the alliance.

“We should educate the constituents of our successes in managing Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan, that these state governments are corrupt-free as opposed to the endemic corruption plaguing the BN-led states and the federal government.”

However, he conceded that it would be an “an uphill task” to educate certain sections of the electorate on the importance of democratic reforms and social justice.

“For example, in Tenang, we spoke about the soaring food prices, but a constituent told us off, saying there was no such thing as he was enjoying profits due to higher palm oil prices. We may face such issues in Merlimau as well.”

Loke agreed that whatever campaign strategy Pakatan would decide on for Merlimau, it must continue to explain what it stood for, such as justice for every citizen, irrespective of race.

“However, Merlimau is also a BN fort,” he said. “So it will be a tough battle, but we will try our best.”

The Merlimau seat became vacant last month with the death of Umno’s Mohamad Hidhir Abu Hassan. The by-election is set for March 6. Nomination is on Feb 26.

In the 2008 general election, Mohamad Hidhir defeated PAS’s Jasme Tompang by 2,154 votes.

Of the 10,679 voters in the constituency, Malays account for 64 %, Chinese 20.8% and Indians 14.4%. - FMT