KUCHING, Dec 11 — The first-past-the-post voting system meant voters must engage in tactical voting in the state election here to achieve the reforms they desire, said Sarawak Pakatan Harapan chief Chong Chen Jen.
He said the voting system meant any vote that did not go to the candidate with the best chance of winning for the Opposition was effectively wasted.
Chong, who is contesting in Padungan, acknowledged that there were other Opposition parties in the state but argued that those in PH were well established, have a long history of cooperation, and possessed national support.
“Indeed, the presence of other Opposition will split the vote, so, we call on the supporters to focus on cooperation between these three parties
“A vote casted to them will be a waste of the vote so let’s focus our votes to the three parties,” he told a press conference today.
This election, various parties were challenging the ruling GPS. Aside from PKR, DAP and Amanah from PH, there were also the Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK).
When asked if PH would cooperate with other local Opposition parties to form government, Chong said only that “politics is the art of possibilities.”
“I think so far let us focus our efforts on winning as many seats as possible. What happens after this we will discuss with all three parties.
“I am not saying to reject or not to reject because when we want to establish a government, there must be agreement in principle between all members of the government,” he said.
PSB is the strongest among the Opposition parties on paper, fielding 70 candidates including several former ministers.
Sarawakians will vote in their 12th state election on December 18.
