Selangor DAP deputy chief Ng Suee Lim said new allies in BN must honestly assess their chances of winning instead of fixating on the number of candidates they wish to field.
In a joint interview with several Chinese news organisations on Thursday, Ng said he was informed that Umno was aiming to field 22 candidates while MCA wanted three.
However, all three seats sought by MCA - Seri Kembangan, Sungai Pelek and Kuala Kubu Bahru - are currently held by DAP.
"You can make requests, but in the end, (a decision by the top leadership will assess) your chances of winning. You have to ask yourself honestly if you can deliver the number of seats you want to the coalition government. The chances of winning are paramount.
"If I contest 20 or 15 seats but have no chance of winning and only end up winning one, two or three seats, I don't think it would be of great help," said Ng, a four-term state assemblyperson for Sekinchan.
He is also the speaker of the Selangor legislative assembly.
MCA has not held a single seat in Selangor since 2013.
Ng expected negotiations to conclude soon and pledged to back MCA candidates should they be allowed to field candidates and that he has already been laying the groundwork.
"I have been battling MCA in Sekinchan for more than 20 years. Our relationship used to be very tense. It was to the point that it was difficult just to have tea (with our MCA counterparts).
"Now, there are some arrangements (to meet) and have cordial discussions. I believe our relationship can be further developed and I look forward to it," he said.
Growing pains
Ng said the new alliance backing Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister consists of 19 parties and it will be a challenge to accommodate everyone’s demands.
However, Ng said he was confident that Anwar possessed the wisdom to handle the matter.
The other challenge, Ng added, was convincing supporters of this new alliance to vote for former rivals.
He believed that Pakatan Harapan can convince over 95 percent of its supporters to vote for BN candidates but expected only around 50 percent to 60 percent of BN supporters to reciprocate.
"So far, we are not overly optimistic about the numbers. If we can get a portion (of BN supporters to vote for Harapan), at least 50 percent or more, it would be good.
"If we can get more, it would be even better," he said.
On Harapan's part, Ng said more was to be done to address racial and religious narratives peddled by their opponents, especially in Malay majority constituencies.
"In such constituencies, their concerns are different. We need to have patience in communicating and persuading them to support the new alliance," he said.
Ng believed that DAP's image among Malay grassroots had improved significantly since Anthony Loke took over as secretary-general last year. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.