Pakatan looking at "5+2": Kit Siang

DAP's Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang foresees an even more powerful political tsunami in the upcoming general election, and the opposition pact is confident of capturing Negeri Sembilan and Perlis in addition to the five states it won in March 2008.

He said during an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily that Pakatan should be able to retain Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan while recapturing Perak plus the states of Negeri Sembilan and Perlis, in the 13th general election.

However, he admitted that Kedah was less stable among the states currently held by Pakatan. He also did not rule out the possibility that PKR Advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would contest in Perak.

Kit Siang felt that the March 2008 political tsunami had yet to reach a peak, and that the peak would be reached in the coming general election.

"The tsunami swept from the north to as far as Negeri Sembilan in 2008, and so the tsunami was not a comprehensive one. The political tsunami did not reach a peak."

He believed the tsunami would cover the entire country this time.

He said judging from the response of Pakatan events in Perlis these years, he could feel that the people there desired to change, and therefore did not rule out the possibility of a change of administration in the state.

Pakatan took 15 state assembly seats in Negeri Sembilan in the last election, just four seats short of forming the state government, and so Pakatan would concentrate its firepower on the state this time.

Due to the problems arising from PAS, Kit Siang admitted that Kedah could be a relatively weak state for Pakatan.

As for Johor, he said Pakatan had already made it a frontline state in the coming election and that he himself would go south to lead the electoral battle.

"Johor is not only the cradle of Umno, it is also a strong fortress for both MCA and Umno. If they are thumped by Pakatan in the coming election, there wouldn't be any chance for them to stage a comeback."

He predicted the winning chances for Pakatan and BN to be 50 to 50, with BN at a slight advantage.

DAP to make inroads into Umno's strongholds

Kit Siang stressed that DAP had set its goal of contesting in Malay-dominant constituencies, and that his move to Gelang Patah would mark the start of the party's advances towards this end.

He described his venture into Gelang Patah as "putting my head on the chopping block."

He told Sin Chew Daily Gelang Patah would be a very challenging battle for him, as he had to leave Ipoh Timur with 81% Chinese voters to one that has only about 53% Chinese, along with 34% Malay and 12% Indian voters, an ethnic make-up that would better reflect that of the entire country.

"To win Gelang Patah, I need more than just the support of Chinese voters.

"I hope I can initiate a political whirlwind in Johor without taking into consideration which BN component party would actually contest in the constituency.

"I have to apologise to Chua Soi Lek as I never thought whether an MCA candidate would contest in the constituency. The question is not whether it is or it is not an MCA constituency."

When asked to comment on the accusation that DAP would only contest in Chinese-majority constituencies, Kit Siang said, "That's a perversive statement. We need not bother about it. In fact, MCA president Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek has made plenty of such statements and we don't have to refute them as they will be washed out by time."

"Gelang Patah is a very big risk. It's not about my personal victory or defeat nor that of the party. It's about the maturity and solidarity of the entire nation.

"Racist remarks from Umno and MCA leaders will not contribute positively to the concept of '1Malaysia' but the annihilation of the same.

"Our strategy is in line with the need for more maturity and more 'Malaysian' as the nation progresses. Transcending political affiliation and race marks a first step towards the real '1Malaysia.'"

"When I see myself as a Malaysian first, race, religion, locality and community second, it doesn't mean I will stop being a Malay or Chinese, which is not possible, but we must have the mindset of transcending race and religion."

When asked to comment on the assumption that Chinese Malaysians would be sidelined if they voted in favour of the opposition in the coming election resulting in the total defeat of MCA and Gerakan, but Pakatan's victory was not big enough to helm Putrajaya, Kit Siang replied that such an ethnic-driven statement was very irresponsible.

"BN has been in power for more than 50 years now. We should look at things from the angle of Malaysians, not our respective races."

Show the differences within first 100 days

Lim Kit Siang said if Pakatan were to make it to Putrajaya, it would show the differences between the new administration and the BN in all areas within the first 100 days.

He reiterated that Pakatan was not looking at just being one-term government, adding that the three parties making up Pakatan Rakyat would prove to all Malaysians that everyone irrespective of race and religion would be taken care of by the new government.

He also said Najib had kept deferring the dissolution of Parliament because he was afraid of losing.

"They have come up with all sorts of favourable measures but they still don't think they are ready for the election!"

Whether the Parliament would be dissolved next week or next month, he said Najib had already missed the most favourable timing for holding the election.

He said the best timing would have been around the Sarawak state election in 2011 before the emergence of Bersih 2.0 and 3.0.