Pakatan has problems but can still win GE14 says Saifuddin

(The Sun Daily) – A senior PKR leader has admitted that differences have surfaced within the Pakatan Harapan alliance but it will not affect the performance of the opposition in the next general election.

“It has not reached a level where the opposition is in total disarray. We and our supporters know who the enemy is and it is not us,” said PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

“If there are conflicts, the alliance has come to manage it in isolation as this is a healthy process in a democracy,” he espoused.

The preparations to face the overwhelming might of Barisan Nasional (BN) remains on course, Saifuddin said in an interview.

Citing incidents in Penang which involved Penanti assemblywoman Dr Norlela Ariffin and Kebun Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng with the DAP-led state government, Saifuddin said that the disputes are isolated cases of dispute and he is confident that it can be resolved.

With elections hotly speculated to be held within the next eight weeks, Saifuddin, who is also the strategic adviser to Lim, said that the counter-attacks invoked by BN, allegedly using the might of the government machinery was expected.

It happened in 1999, 2008 and 2013 – so voters are fairly attuned to such tactics to use the enforcement side of the government to rattle the opposition.

“It happened to our leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1999. We expect a few fence sitters to be swayed by such tactics but not in numbers that will trouble us.”

Pakatan is also unaffected by the range of feel-good media reports surfacing, from the confidence of BN in regaining its two-thirds majority to the fact the economy is picking up.

Although the opposition may not have floundered under attacks by their rivals, Saifuddin admitted that Pakatan remained the undisputed underdog due to the overwhelming advantages that BN holds in the country.

For starters, BN is the second longest political entity to consecutively govern any country after one in Mexico, he said, adding that the country’s core cultural values and demographic status originated from BN’s leadership.

Hence, it is difficult but on the same token, there are indications that Pakatan may fare well, perhaps enough to invoke a “hung” parliament status after the election despite the proposition of multi-cornered fights, he added.

Malaysia has 222 parliamentary seats of which BN has 132, Pakatan 72, PAS has 13 while Sabah’s Warisan has two besides three Independents.

To be a force and to hold BN accountable, Saifuddin said that the voters must buy into their moral compass to differentiate between right and wrong rather than lean on their comfort zones of race, religion or status quo.