Opposition must say what they mean and mean what they say

YOURSAY | ‘The overriding consideration is to beat BN in the next GE.’

DAP must soften stance for Bersatu to win over Malays, says analyst

Quigonbond: The analysts are getting it wrong and this is what I would tell Pakatan Harapan. Rome is not built in one day, and neither will it burn in one night.

The reality is BN+PAS is a force, evil and corrupt as they may be, to be reckoned with. Politicians and the public have to take a long view. We should all contribute and do our darndest best to make sure Pakatan wins the next general elections.

But if we do not, we must look to the next one, and then the next one, and then the next one until it happens.

The key question is not whether Pakatan will be able to agree on seats, have a common manifesto, or still try to cooperate with PAS. The question is will it really develop a long-term ideology and be a political opposition institution with perpetual change in leadership for the long game.

If you remain cohesive after GE14 win or lose, that's where you'll get the maximum respect from rakyat. The opposition was so close in GE13. If PAS didn't buckle, BN would likely have been nailed in GE14.

For the long-term game, the current Pakatan definitely have more internal consistency than Pakatan before GE13. PAS has always been an unnatural appendage.

With Bersatu, the issue is not so much with Malay leadership (which in reality will happen anyway), but with how to implement affirmative action such that it is transparent, accountable, and result oriented.

Existential Turd: This is not making any sense. The multi-racial party must "soften" its stance to placate a uni-racial party? It looks to me, it should have been the other way around.

The majority of the population is Malaysian. Malays is only a subset of the population. Why should the majority placate or even kowtowing to the whims and fancies of the minority?

The Malays do not need to be mollified, only their incompetent leaders need to be mollycoddled. I'd rather see the opposition lose than to see it win by becoming another BN.

Keturunan Malaysia: Honestly, we are having one too many ‘experts’ giving their views on one too many things of late.

We, the rakyat, only request the opposition to work as a team and do their best to project themselves. If they must speak, then speak what they mean and mean what they speak, in one voice, whenever and wherever possible.

We already have a ‘coconut bomoh’ making many prophecies. Do we need more nuts by any other name making more prophecies?

Clever voter: Unsolicited comments are plenty. Opinions are subjective and views can be diverse. That's normal.

That's why the largest democracy, India, lags behind China where actions speak louder than words and power is vested among party elites. Some within the opposition are only keen to make noises and quite a few are parochial in their thinking.

In BN, when Umno puts its foot down, the rest toe the line. Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s style may be seen as autocratic but he got things done. How well is another matter.

If the opposition wants to win, we must have a leader who is a visionary. There is no room for the petty and trivial, as exemplified in the case of the group which left the Malacca DAP and the remarks by DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke.

The overriding consideration is to beat BN in the next GE

The Mask: DAP leader Anthony Loke and all others who opposed Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin's views - do you want to want to take Putrajaya? Do you want to get rid of Umno-BN?

If yes, you have to consider Muhyiddin's suggestion seriously. He just wants to project the image that the new Barisan Rakyat coalition is Malay-led but "DAP and PKR would be part of the family".

His suggestion is to allay the fears of the Malays, especially the rural Malays. If you cannot see this as a strategy, then you (DAP) can forget about Putrajaya. And what people say about DAP wanting to dominate is true after all.

Sarawakian: The Mask, I fully agree with you. DAP is full of people like Loke, who can't see that Bersatu is in no condition to dictate anything before or after GE14.

Bersatu is the opposition’s best chance of winning over the rural Malays, without which they can kiss this country goodbye.

Budak SRJK (C): There is no harm in projecting an image of a Malay-led opposition while maintaining cooperation and consensus among all the coalition parties.

Sometimes, the DAP wallows in too much ego, which will be detrimental to itself. There is no way Bersatu can control the opposition when they can hardly muster enough seats to throw its weight around.

The opposition must talk smart and work smart. At this juncture, this is absolutely crucial.

Mechi: Guys, wake up and be matured and professional. Critical thinking applies that Muhyiddin (he still has to prove he can win Johor state and woo the masses) has a right to say what he wants, and so does Loke.

The key leaders of Bersatu and Pakatan should preferably have a WhatsApp group and brainstorm and network ideas there.

Please don't tell BN your strategies and weaknesses openly. The combination of personalities like Mahathir, Rafizi Ramli, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Dzulkefly Ahmad, Tony Pua and many more can be lethal.

Ng Sim Bee: In the words of the late former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, Malaysian politics will centre around Malay-based parties. Parties like DAP, MCA and Gerakan will just be bridesmaids.

More so, when the non-Malay population will shrivel to less than 10 percent in generations to come due to low birth rate and emigration.

Demi Rakyat: Do not be another Umno-led BN. Keep to Pakatan's founding conviction, namely ‘Principles before power’ and ‘Equal partnership’.

Without Bersatu, Pakatan will continue to march on but without Pakatan, Bersatu is dead.

Iwfdrtkslvjh: That is the most honest analysis I have read on Malaysiakini to date, but as usual DAP knows better so their karma is waiting for them.

Drifter: To beat Umno, you have to play like Umno. This is sadly what DAP does not understand.- Mkini