As the ripples continue in the aftermath of the Sarawak state election, the country will soon have two new parliamentary by-elections, one for Sungai Besar and the other for Kuala Kangsar.
And despite the less than satisfactory election results in Sarawak as their seats have been reduced from 12 to 7, DAP seems discontent. DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang made an analysis at a media conference on May 8 blaming the party’s dismal defeat on the unfair demarcation of constituencies, low voting rate and the Adenan effect.
On May 9, he issued another statement indicating that the face-off between DAP and PKR in fighting each other in six overlapping constituencies was not the main cause of Barisan’s victory. He further indicated that the Sarawak polls had no relevance to the 14thgeneral election while the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections would be the real indicator of the upcoming general election.
In the 505 general election, Barisan (UMNO) won the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar seats by a slim majority of 399 and 1,082 votes against PAS. The results mean that they are grey areas. PAS has already made known its intention to “take revenge” in contesting the two by-elections.
Besides the question of whether Barisan can defend the two seats, the other focus point is how Pakatan Harapan deals with its delicate relationship with PAS.
PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali declared immediately after the Sarawak state election that Pakatan Harapan must beef up its co-operation with PAS in order to face the next general election as a united team.
Pakatan Harapan’s lingering relationship with PAS will show up in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections. Based on current situation, DAP is not likely to reconcile with PAS while chances of Amanah partnering its former “master” again are even lower. Amanah’s role is to replace PAS in Pakatan Harapan. If they keep giving way to PAS, they would naturally lose their political status in Pakatan Harapan.
Looking at things from this angle, Amanah should fight hard to contest in the two by-elections. However, if that happened, their votes would split and Barisan would stand to gain.
Chinese votes in Sungai Besar amount to 31% and in Kuala Kangsar 24%. They could hold the balance in these two parliamentary constituencies. In the 505 general election, PAS would not have won nearly as many votes as Barisan without DAP’s strong backing. In other words, PAS alone, without DAP, will not be able to fight Barisan.
The complicated relationship between Pakatan Harapan and PAS will be put to severe test even before the by-election. PKR has been ambiguous in this regard. At this juncture, if PKR openly declared its support of PAS, DAP may be able to take it but Amanah may not allow Pakatan Harapan to do so.
To the fledging Amanah, the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections would be their best testing ground. It should seize the opportunity to prove how far it can go within the Pakatan Harapan political framework.
Original Source: 补选先考验反对党
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