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YOUR OPINION | “If PKR wants more seats, it must show that it can win them.”
I told Anwar that winning the polls is more important than the dignity of the party – Shafie
BusinessFirst: I think Acting Chief Minister Sabah Shafie Apdal has read the mood correctly. PKR would be lucky to retain the two state seats it won in the last general election (GE).
I think rightly or wrongly, because of the 11 MPs who left the party led by Gombak MP Azmin Ali, PKR is now associated with “frogs”.
Your brand has been very successful and I think that in a close election this will dampen the enthusiasm of Warisan Plus supporters to go out and vote for PKR.
The fall of the federal government was due to PKR frogs and Sabah voters will not lose sight of the fact that of the two seats won by PKR in the state, one jumped. This does not inspire confidence.
Personally, I predict that PKR would lose all the seats it disputes simply because the feeling of “localization” is strong in Sabah in this election and PKR will be seen as a Semenanjung party. Hopefully, the independents who win those seats will join Warisan.
DAP’s brand in urban areas remains strong. So I think they will at least take all their seats. Upko will no doubt criticize PBS and Star over their association with the PAS and Semenanjung issues in non-Muslim bumiputera areas. I think they will do well.
Honestly, among Muslim bumiputeras, I’m not sure. I think it’s a close fight. Therefore, Shafie is right. Every seat counts and it’s best not to waste them on those with little chance of winning.
GreenViper4010: I don’t usually agree with Shafie, but in this case, I think he’s right. The “chance of winning” over the “Malay Triad” (good tone!) Should be paramount for all opposition parties in the run-up to the next GE.
PKR lacks credibility and strength in Sabah. If they want more seats assigned to them, they must show that they can win them.
Unfortunately, despite all the positive policies and personal struggles of PKR President Anwar Ibrahim, he has not projected enough leadership or momentum to justify a large allocation of seats.
PKR (and DAP for that matter) is in need of long-term bridge construction in East Malaysia, and not just by visiting during election time.
Furthermore, PKR must move away from the “peninsular mentality” that plagues politics throughout the South China Sea. Defeat the Triad!
PurpleJaguar0553: Shafie’s statement makes sense. If PKR wants more seats, it must show that it can win them. It makes no sense to ask for more seats and lose them all to Perikatan Nasional (PN).
PKR has been further decimated by Azmin, who has taken away his support for PKR and placed him firmly with PN. Azmin, as number two in his former party, has considerable grassroots support as seen in the PKR elections.
This also weighs heavily against PKR’s ability to operate in Sabah. It is better for PKR to win the seven allocated seats and then regain its strength in Sabah and the rest of Malaysia.
Siva1967: Dear Anwar, I think this time Shafie is right. It’s not about dignity or number of seats, it’s about compromising and cooperating to drive the warlords and their frogs out of the state.
In fact, the same should also be adopted in elections at the federal level. PKR received eight seats last time and how many did PKR win?
So stop whining and start working together. This is Warisan territory and not PKR’s even though the PKR members are predominantly Sabahans.
Shafie has ruled the state in recent years and we trust that he knows best what it takes to win this snap election. So please reciprocate and work together.
Constitutional Supremacy: This is Shafie’s absolute leadership, focused on winning the elections for the betterment of Sabah. PKR had only won two seats previously.
Imagine if they were assigned 14 seats and only won two again. PKR would then have given the opposition 12 seats. PKR should now accept all seven seats and try to win them all rather than lose the 14 seats it intended to contest.
Other Comment: Anwar and PKR, the choice of Sabah is not about you or your party’s ambition or redemption, it is about reversing the country from decay, decline and the destruction of democracy at the hands of the corrupt, kleptocrats and extremists .
Buckle up or the wrath of Malaysia will decimate you in the next election.
Heron: Former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad probably “threw the wrench” on any attempt at collaboration between these two men when he proposed Shafie as prime minister material.
And sadly, in this current dispute over seats in the upcoming Sabah election, Anwar’s position seems quite unreasonable, if not self-indulgent.
It is surprising that a politician with his long and agonizing experience is doing this at such a crucial time for Pakatan Harapan.
OrangeViper2887: Shafie is too confident! This state election is not the same as GE14. She is not making the wise decision to allocate fewer seats to PKR. Why? PKR has a large following in Sabah. If the rank and file are not happy, they may not vote for Warisan.
Shafie is following the old man’s advice. She managed to connect DAP and Amanah. This could also eventually destroy Harapan. Anwar will stay in the cold. The old man has thus achieved his goal of sabotaging Anwar.
But remember that PKR rose to this level from scratch with the awakening of the reformasi. PKR is now the only party with principles. The others are looking for the salsa train.
GrayHawk8513: @ OrangeViper2887, I am Sabahan and I agree with you that after Selangor, Sabah has the largest number of PKR members. But most of them are Azmin’s people.
Mushiro: Warisan did not win a majority in the last election and had to rely on frogs to form the Sabah state government in 2018.
Then, a week after former Chief Minister Musa Aman was freed from corruption charges, he bought Warisan frogs to overthrow the Warisan state government.
So how is it that Shafie has suddenly become such a great advisor on winning the Sabah election when he couldn’t even keep his state assemblymen in his Warisan government?
What guarantee can Shafie give that new Warisan assemblymen will not jump back into PN after the results are announced?
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has all the government money to tempt the Warisan frogs. Shafie must be realistic to understand the feelings on the ground and the politics of the coalition parties.
ScarletPanda9731: What dignity are we talking about? Umno, PAS and Bersatu speak of dignity. DAP and Amanah speak of dignity. PN speaks of dignity. Upko talks about dignity. Pejuang, awaiting registration, also speaks of dignity. Yes, I forgot, even political frogs talk about dignity.
Is it dignity when you steal other people’s money? Is it dignity when you refuse to repay loans? Is it dignity when you ask for positions? Is it dignity when you discriminate against others? Is it dignity when you take power illegitimately? Is it dignity when you don’t honor your word, written or verbal? Define dignity.
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