Principles matter when choosing allies, says PKR’s youth chief

 

PKR youth chief Adam Adli said PH was particular which parties it aligned with otherwise supporters might be confused.

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan’s decision to snub Perikatan Nasional and Gerakan Tanah Air in taking on Barisan Nasional is the right move as “principles are more important”, says PKR Youth chief Adam Adli.

Some observers have said a divided opposition would struggle to beat BN in the Nov 19 general election (GE15) as shown in the Melaka and Johor state polls but PH has already made its stand on the matter clear.

In the state elections, BN took less than half the popular vote but won as the remaining votes were split between PH and PN.

In an interview with FMT, Adam said PH would not be taking any “shortcuts” by working with other coalitions.

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“We have had (some) bad experiences working with others in the past so it is better not to repeat (the mistake). It was disappointing,

“We are not like PAS or Warisan who jump to whoever they think will win the elections.”

Adam said PH also had to keep its supporters in mind and avoid confusing them by forming alliances with parties that had different values and principles.

To him, it was not impossible for PH to win in an election so long as it stuck to its agenda and principles.

Working with Muda

Adam, who previously spoke against cooperating with Muda, also said he had no more issues over PH’s political pact with the party led by former Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

He also said discussions between PH and Muda had been progressing smoothly though there was a need to ensure better coordination.

“We have to make sure we enter GE15 with Muda effectively and avoid a repeat of the situation in Johor.

“Although this time it (cooperation) is very clear but we will be very careful. It is not because we don’t trust them but we just have to make sure what happened in Larkin does not happen again.”

He was referring to the clash between Muda’s Rasid Abu Bakar and PKR’s Dr Zamil Najwah in a six-way fight for the Larkin state seat during the Johor polls. That contest was won by the BN candidate.

Adam, however, acknowledged that the political pact with Muda might not be easy to realise as the decision to work with the youth party was made at the last-minute.

He said had Muda sought to join PH earlier it would have been easier to accommodate the party.

Recently, PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim said the coalition would enter into an electoral pact with Muda for GE15 as it would be difficult to obtain the necessary approvals from the Registrar of Societies to admit Muda as a coalition member before the election. - FMT