Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has always stressed the importance of a united opposition to defeat Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election.
Maybe this is why Mahathir did the unthinkable – forgoing his 18 years of animosity with PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim in favour of a reconciliation.
Many saw this as a sign of something to come, as part of efforts to unite the opposition.
But Umno is not going to just sit down and do nothing about it. Recently there have been talks that the 14th general election could be held as early as March next year.
And this has been acknowledged by DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, who conceded that the early election may be held so that new party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) would not have time to organise itself.
“That may be one of the factors,” Lim (photo) told Malaysiakini when asked if an early election would work to the opposition’s favour.
Asked whether DAP was ready to face early polls, the Gelang Patah MP said there was no choice but to face it head on.
However, if election is indeed called in March, Lim believes that it would catch everyone, including the ruling party itself, off-guard.
“Some Umno leaders were saying that they are ever-ready but I think it will be something that will definitely take everyone by surprise,” he said.
But PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli said he had heard of an early election for quite some time.
“The talk has always been that (Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) is looking at a post-Raya election next year.
“However, if he thinks that his chance would be better if election is called earlier, then he will call for it as early as March.”
The Pandan lawmaker said he was initially sceptical of the early election date, as the ruling party would first need a huge sum of money to prepare for the polls.
But recent announcements by Putrajaya, such as the estimated RM650 million Taman Tugu project, have proven to be the missing piece in the puzzle, said Rafizi.
So is the opposition, then, ready to face the election?
Rafizi (photo) noted that the public are already angry with Najib, due to the issues plaguing the prime minister. This meant half of their job as the opposition was already done.
“There’s hardly anything that the opposition parties have to prepare […] It won’t be as monumental a task as before.
“Usually the readiness that makes it very difficult is the number of programmes and ceramah to push the issues through; that costs time and money – and that has been settled.”
Rafizi, however, expressed concern at the speed in which the opposition parties resolve differences, especially when it comes to seat negotiations.
Seat negotiations still a challenge
“In order to get the level of preparedness to about 70 percent by February, seat negotiations have to be concluded by December.
“If it drags beyond December, the public will be fed up, then the so-called ready-made issues and advantage that we have may actually turn against us.
“People will say ‘you must be kidding, election is in March and you are still quarreling'.
“(So) it’s a very easy election to fight but with a great risk unless we really manage the more sensitive part, which is seat negotiation,” he said.
The PKR vice-president however believes there is no need for opposition parties to ensure straight fights for every single seat it will contest.
“One-to-one fights are important for swing states like Johor, Perak, Kedah, Pahang and Negri Sembilan – states in which Umno may lose a lot of seats.
“(The plan) sounds easy but requires simultaneous negotiations and that may actually be the part where we may not have enough time to do, unless we start now,” said Rafizi.
Despite the concerns raised by Rafizi, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president Mohamad Sabu (photo) expressed his party’s readiness in facing the general election.
“Political parties are ever-ready in preparing for elections,” he said.
“Even if the elections are called now, we would be contesting.”
Regardless when the election is called, said Mohamad, the opposition is set to benefit from it due to issues such as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Yesterday, Bloomberg quoted two Umno division leaders who confirmed that the March date had been bandied about.
They said the Umno leadership has, in recent weeks, urged party grassroots to engage with potential voters, particularly young voters.
Najib is now in his strongest position yet since he was first plagued by controversy after multi-billion dollar deposits in his personal bank accounts came to light in July last year.
Despite the enormity of the scandal, party grassroots remain loyal to him while his critics were either removed from the government or sacked from Umno. - Mkini
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