KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Tanjung Piai by-election defeat can be taken as either the beginning of the end of the coalition or an opportunity to start fresh, said Johor DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong.
Liew said the coalition’s massive lost is an earthquake no less, but it is also a watershed moment for Malaysian politics.
“The harder part begins now. We will have to figure out what lessons we can draw from the election result as it will have a huge implication on what action we will take subsequently.
“Each action will lead to further reactions and consequences,” Liew said during a thanksgiving do with DAP election volunteers today.
Yesterday, Barisan National’s (BN) Wee Jeck Seng won the Tanjung Piai by-election with a landslide victory by a majority of 15,086 votes against PH’s Karmaine Sardinie.
Liew added that the party’s thanksgiving dinner is the first session for him and the state leadership to listen to the views of members post by-election.
“The DAP leadership will tour the state and nation to listen to views to chart the steps ahead.
“It is my hope that the listening tour by leaders will result in some form of a ‘new deal’ and a turnaround plan for execution in 2020 to regain public confidence,” he said.
He also reminded PH that there is a need to search for a common purpose now and that the coalition must accept that the democratic uprising on May 9 May 2018 means that everyone feels that they have full democratic rights to vote for anyone, and there are no fixed deposits for anyone.
“Almost everyone is a swing-voter.
“Let’s hope that we can all draw the right lessons from the defeat and to create a fresh start and a new deal for the PH government and for the nation,” he said.
