Accepting Bersatu different from accepting Malacca defectors - Loke

 

Any decision on whether Pakatan Harapan will cooperate with Bersatu must be agreed to by all component parties, said DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.

He said he believed PKR and Amanah will not repeat what happened in Malacca last year when the two parties decided to accept two former Umno assemblypersons to contest the state election under the Harapan banner, to DAP's dismay.

“This is a major decision. I think it cannot be done without the agreement of all the (Harapan) parties.

“This is something different than what happened in Malacca. In Malacca, it only involved several individuals joining the respective Harapan component parties.

“But here we are, talking about striking cooperation with another political party, a controversial one at that. So it definitely needs to be supported by all the parties,” Loke said.

Pressed further on what would DAP do if PKR and Amanah bulldozes such a major decision despite DAP’s stand, he said, “we will cross the bridge when we come to it”.

Speaking to reporters during a buka puasa (breaking fast) do in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, he stressed it would be difficult for the opposition to work with Bersatu again after what happened in 2020.

He was responding to queries about Bersatu exploring cooperation with other parties to go against BN in the next general election.

Loke had been critical of the idea of rebuilding bridges with Bersatu, which defected from the Harapan coalition in 2020, causing its fall from federal power.

In a statement last week, he revealed that Harapan's “big tent” plan was only with other opposition parties and not with the Bersatu-led Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, which is part of today's federal government.

His statement then came after Amanah's deputy president urged Harapan to begin discussions with PN.

Loke said Harapan's top leadership has so far not made any decision to negotiate with Bersatu.

Negotiations with opposition parties

Meanwhile, on the “big tent” strategy, Loke said discussions with other opposition parties on the 15th general election are still ongoing.

He said Harapan is of the view that it would be best for opposition parties not to go against each other in the polls.

“For GE15, there will be negotiations on the number of seats, arrangements so that we do not clash against each other, and to me, this is a lengthy process and nothing has been decided yet.

“We have never closed our doors to other opposition parties. But of course, we have our own parameters, our principles. To me, the best would be not to clash among ourselves, but whether this can be agreed upon has yet to be decided,” he said. - Mkini