YOURSAY | Strength of coalition govt is strengthening its partners

YOURSAY | ‘It’s the best defence against distractors, manipulators, and ill-willed personalities.’

Loke hopes Umno will ‘win big’ in state elections

Mazilamani: Great words by DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke. Whether family, business, or political partners, all must prosper equally.

The strength of the coalition government lies in strengthing its partners so they can all grow together.

One thing is for sure, the partners are beginning to cast aside their past distrust and discomfort. This is because of the confidence and respect they hold for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Staying united is the best defence against distractors, manipulators, and ill-willed personalities in the name of a belief system.

With a collective attitude like this, the coalition government is expected to do well in the coming state elections.

Most Malaysians want our country to be economically prosperous and politically stable, with a just and fair government and a lower cost of living.

Man on the Silver Mountain: Loke’s remarks make sense, a stronger Umno can only result in a weaker Perikatan Nasional (PN), which in turn makes a stronger government.

DAP has reached its greatest height but there is room for improvement in terms of seats for PKR and Amanah. Umno can get those seats that the latter two cannot.

With Umno in the coalition government, it certainly makes them stronger, especially in the peninsula. DAP sees this reality and therefore, they are just being pragmatic.

The principle of voting is about choice. The choice is to choose what is laid on the table. You still can have your policy or principle, but when voting you have to make a choice, which can only be from among what is available.

Make a choice, vote, and see the positive side of it. The political parties concerned have to work based on the minimum of what they want to achieve. Due to the impasse in the election results, we are inching towards a state of political maturity.

This means our leaders must work in partnership with other parties whose policies are similar or nearer to their own.

They form a government and then try to achieve some of their party goals. They also need to compromise, which means they may not be able to do everything they want.

The subsequent election will hopefully see a different scenario, whether you govern alone or in a changed partnership. In this sense, politics is dynamic. A coalition government is less permanent than a coalition of parties.

HOYOHOYO: Contestants of state seats were already agreed upon by Pakatan Harapan and BN. Incumbents will defend their allocated seats in Penang, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan. Umno/BN will be contesting the state seats they lost in Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu.

Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was smart to align with Anwar instead of former PM Muhyiddin Yassin. He knew Umno will be wiped out if they join PN.

Being given more seats in Malay states is both a matter of survival and opportunity. Umno could either be decimated in the coming state elections or win back Kedah with the coalition government.

Not Bitten Twice: My observation is that most Malaysians are smart and practical voters. They usually assess their chances of the probability of each coalition and weigh out various scenarios of different coalitions for this country.

They do have a mind of their own so campaigns to carry the correct message are important.

It also depends on the region. Penang, Selangor, and Negeri Sembilan rank among the highest in terms of sophisticated voters.

Based on my observations, the coalition government will win big if Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan can publicly send the same message as Loke. Collectively, their vote bank will amplify.

Drngsc: What you say is true, Anthony. However, a lot depends on whether those who are your partners are people of integrity. People who can be trusted.

Malaysian politics has to grow to a level where politicians can be trusted to stand for what they say they stand for.

Milshah: You should have principles. If Harapan stands alone, they cannot be government, so be it. You’ve been able to survive for 60 years, what’s another 60 years more?

Only then voters will respect you. If you say no to Umno before because of corruption, then no to Umno now.

Otherwise, after this, it’s DAP alliance with PAS or Pejuang or whatever. It makes your voters a plaything to vote, according to the politicians’ wishes.

Nash: Politics requires partnership with the lesser devil. Yes Harapan can absolutely survive as opposition but being the government now, many reforms have been done, which PN will not have taken steps to achieve.

So it makes sense to steer the country in a better direction. Or you rather the country goes to doom with the PN style of administration?

Have you seen what happened in Kedah and Kelantan for the past two years? Wonder how that amplifies the whole of Malaysia? Good, go ponder. If you are so bitter that you don’t want to vote for a Harapan candidate, then so be it.

FellowMalaysian: What Loke meant, if I may hazard a guess, is for Umno and Harapan to come to a compromise by regimentally following the coalition government’s pledge of placing only one contestant in each seat.

However, the seats shall be distributed and proportioned based on the states they contest in. In other words, seat distribution will favour Harapan in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Penang whereas in Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu, it will benefit Umno.

This is a ‘survival instinct’ strategy that will give the coalition government a fair chance to hold on to the federal government and ensure Umno gets a helping hand in more Malay states.

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