Opposition must pursue 'big tent' approach against BN - Guan Eng

 

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has called on all 'genuine' opposition parties to unite and adopt a 'big tent' approach against BN.

Lim, however, stressed that this does not include Perikatan Nasional (PN).

In a statement today, the DAP leader refused to accept that a new wave of Covid-19 infections is the sole reason for the poor turnout in the recent Johor state election - with polling stations being "much safer than markets and coffee shops".

He attributed the opposition's failure to win big in the Johor state polls to a lack of unity.

Lim said this could be seen in the opposition's failure to contest under a common logo and vision and inability to facilitate any discussion of a menteri besar candidate and also because of opposition parties contesting against each other.

"There is no use pinning the blame of Pakatan Harapan's losses on lower voter turnout as an exercise in self-denial to cover up the continued refusal to understand or refuse to address the root cause.

"Only then can we avoid losing all our seats and offer hope of revival and victory at the next general election.

"For instance, how can we convince voters that Harapan is committed to anti-hopping laws and betrayal of the people's mandate when defectors from government parties are put up as candidates?" he said.

‘Principles and ideals matter’

Lim added that principles and ideals matter when talking about being an agent of change and reforms.

His comments came two months after Amanah president Mohamad Sabu initially resurfaced the 'big tent' strategy that garnered them success in the 14th general election (GE14).

Lim said the coalition's failures in the Malacca and Sarawak state elections last November and December have shown that Harapan needs to be bolder about making changes for the sake of their struggle.

Conceding that even DAP has much to work on, he said there is an urgent need to think as a coalition in these times.

"Whilst DAP has managed to deal with some of the weaknesses that helped us reduce our losses and retain 10 seats, there is still much to be done by the DAP.

There is an urgent need to think as a coalition, not to focus solely on the narrow interest of one's own party. Only by sharing our victories as a coalition can we win more," he said.

Lim said adopting an 'ostrich in the sand' approach by not admitting weaknesses and failure to communicate will not help the coalition to win future general elections.

"DAP cannot do it alone and will need Harapan to come along to address these issues," he added. - Mkini