Go for the young Malay swing votes, PH told

 

Liew Chin Tong (centre, with black mask) with election campaign workers at a thanksgiving lunch in Ayer Keroh, Melaka, today. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan must be given a fresh look and new substance so that the swing voters will choose it instead of Umno and Barisan Nasional, or Perikatan Nasional, DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong said.

Liew, who is the party’s national political education director, said DAP must be steadfast to make itself a national party of all Malaysians with a Malaysian First outlook. “We must resist all calls to ‘retreat’ or to be a parochial party,” he said.

For PH, he urged the coalition to become a “big tent” to house all the forces opposed to the old politics of Umno, BN and PN.

“The revamped PH must be the choice for all swing voters and younger voters,” he said in a speech at a thanksgiving lunch in Ayer Keroh for campaign workers and volunteers.

He said younger Malay swing voters who despised Umno or BN had voted for PN, instead of PH.

Liew said PH conceded that the coalition had lost the battle for Melaka “but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we will lose the larger war”.

DAP won in only Ayer Keroh, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir; Amanah won in Bukit Katil while PKR lost all its 11 contests. In 2018, the coalition won 15 seats.

Liew said PH should rise from defeat to strategise better for the next battle, as the next parliamentary general election was not far away and with the possibility of more state elections in the months to come.

Liew said DAP lost marginally by 131 and 200 votes in the urban seats of Pengkalan Batu and Duyong and lost by 1,116 and 559 votes in the rural seats of Bemban and Gadek respectively.

“We regret the losses, but we must not give up. The results show that we could have won these seats with a very small swing from young, middle ground voters,” he said. - FMT