Rafizi: Sabah and Sarawak reps will jump ship if…

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli claims all it takes is for 13 MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to join the opposition and the Barisan Nasional government will collapse.

PETALING JAYA: PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli has once again rubbished claims by those who say that Najib Razak’s position as prime minister is secure.

“All it takes is for 13 MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to cross over and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government will collapse,” he said.

Previously, Rafizi had predicted that even if Pakatan Harapan (PH) did not emerge the victor in the next general election, Najib would be toppled by his own party members.

In a live video on his Facebook page, he based the forecast on surveys made by Invoke, a PH policy research initiative, on the likely outcome of three-cornered fights in the next general election.

Speaking to FMT, Rafizi said based on Invoke’s surveys, if the elections were held today, PH should be able to get between 95 and 100 parliamentary seats.

“Of course PH would like to win in its own right and get a 112-seat simple majority, but it is very likely that if we cross the 100 mark a new alignment with the Borneo-based parties can take place.

“The moment PH crosses the 100 mark, BN parties in Sabah and Sarawak will break away and negotiate for an expanded PH that includes them,” he said.

Rafizi claimed what was important for BN parties in Sabah and Sarawak was to remain in the federal government.

“BN parties in Sabah and Sarawak will be willing to negotiate with whoever wins the majority in the peninsula to form a federal government. It’s likely that PH will win in the peninsula,” he added.

As for Najib, Rafizi said it was precisely because Umno understood the electoral arithmetic that there would be an “internal revolt”.

“Even if BN wins 125 seats, there will be an internal revolt. So in order to be firmly secured in his position, he needs to win big. Maybe 140 seats and above, but looking at the situation now, that’s going to be really tough for him.”

In his live video, Rafizi also said that according to Invoke’s findings, if the general election were held soon, and in the event of three-cornered fights, PH would be able to win 97 seats while BN would take 125 seats.

“If this analysis turns out to be true, then you can be sure that there will be attempts to get rid of Najib from within Umno itself,” he said. -FMT