Malaysians Say The Darndest Things!

PKR And DAP Seat Talks In Perak Still Pending An Outcome

January 25, 2008

After successful seat negotiations between DAP and PKR (Keadilan) in Penang to avoid a 3-way battle against BN, the signs were pointing towards a similar agreement in other states like Perak and Sarawak. Since Penang can be considered one of the bigger hurdles that both party have to cross, and they have successfully handled it, the opposition supporters would be expecting a similar agreement in other states to proceed even faster.

However, 2 days ago on 23rd January, Lim Kit Siang revealed in his blog that the talks between the two opposition political parties are too slow, as the signs are pointing to a General Election in March 2008.

Says Mr. Lim:

I am particularly disappointed at the agonizingly slow progress in DAP-PKR seats negotiations for I had stuck my neck out to break the stalemate to ensure that the DAP-PKR electoral agreement for Penang was reached on January 7, although DAP was subsequently accused of compromising its position and yielding to PKR pressures.

Such accusation from Barisan Nasional parties and personalities are to be expected, but there are also PKR claims of this nature, like SMS which immediately made the rounds after the announcement of the DAP-PKR electoral understanding for Penang that it was achieved after public threats by a certain PKR leader.

Perak was meant to be the next state for an electoral agreement to be reached after Penang but the differences between the two state parties seem to be as wide as ever, with even the PKR National Vice President publicly reiterating PKR interest to contest in Ipoh Timur parliamentary seat.

I find such lack of progress most disappointing. By now, all parties should be making their final plans for the general election battle which will be over in 40 days - and not still bogged down by seats negotiations.

For instance, PKR should be helping the DAP in its plans to wrest another three parliamentary seats from the Barisan Nasional in Perak namely Bruas, Taiping and Teluk Intan instead of publicly laying claim to these and other seats which are the focus of DAP efforts in the coming general election, including Ipoh Timur.

Malaysiakini also carried Lim Kit Siang’s message and adds that in 2004, DAP and PKR clashed against BN candidates in 3 parliament seats in Perak (Sungai Siput, Teluk Intan, Taiping) and 6 state seats in Perak (Simpang Pulai, Bercham, Jelapang, Jalong, Aulong and Kuala Sepetang). The opposition lost all the seats except for a solitary DAP win in the Jelapang state seat.

Here’s my take on this issue, especially in Perak, since I will be voting in Ipoh Timur.
One of the many complaints I have heard about the opposition is that the opposition is not strong, they are not united in wanting to deny BN a 2/3rd majority. Such discordance between PKR and DAP does nothing to dispel that impression. This is the year that voter sentiment is highly anti-BN, so both parties should focus on the goal (deny 2/3rds), and reach decisions based on maximizing the number of votes and maximizing the number of seats that can potentially be won.

There is no doubt Perak is important to the opposition due to the large number of non-Malay voters in the state, especially in the urban town centers. There is no doubt that there will be pro-opposition voters who would vote any leader from DAP, PKR, PAS, and perhaps even a piece of wood (or am I the only one? :P), rather than vote for a BN candidate. But the reality is, there are still many fence-sitters that the opposition has to woo. In fact, the two parties should have finalized an agreement last year, so that both parties can then focus on working to get the support of these fence-sitters, and help each other campaign for victory.

As it stands now, with the election potentially less than 2 months away, this is no time for experimentation and bickering. Here’s a simple solution. Gather the results from the last general election in 2004. For those fights between DAP and PKR, measure who won the most votes at that time, then let that be the sole opposition candidate for that constituency.

Having said that, if it is true that PKR is demanding more seats to be allocated to them in Perak, especially in Chinese majority areas, I would ask those PKR leaders to look within their party. Last I checked, there were no Perak PKR leaders in Parliament, but there are 3 Perak DAP leaders in Parliament. In terms of past success, DAP has got the better record and also reputation, while PKR still suffers from the reputation that the party is only all about Anwar Ibrahim (unless you read Nat at http://jelas.info that is).

Lim Kit Siang has declared that the 31st of January should be the deadline where the seat talks for Perak should be concluded. I hope so as well, for the opposition’s sake, and also the country’s.

Remember, the goal is to deny 2/3rd, not for political power.

For another take on this story, head over to Ktemoc’s piece: Two tigers on one Opposition mountain

You Might Find These Interesting

• DAP vs PKR vs BN In Ipoh Timur To Become Reality?
• 11th General Elections Malaysia Results - At a glance
• Answers Regarding Ipoh Timur
• Perak Coalition Government Reaches Understanding; Perak Celebrates New Royal Family Member
• Lim Guan Eng and DAP, You Can Change Hearts and Minds

Thank you for reading Malaysians Say The Darndest Things! If you like what you just read, you should consider subscribing to this blog in a feedreader. Alternatively, you could also subscribe via email, and you will get a daily digest of the day's posts. Your email is strictly protected and will never be used for spam or marketing purposes.