| Opposition parties DAP and PKR today presented a united front in announcing their battle plan to wrest Penang from Barisan Nasional in the coming general election.
T he two parties have inked a deal to ensure that the opposition will face one-to-one contest with BN in the frontline state.
Under the agreed arrangements, DAP - which for long have aspired to rule Penang - will contest seven out of 13 parliamentary seats and 19 out of 40 state seats in the next general election.
PKR and the other opposition party PAS will be negotiating for the remaining seats.
At a press conference held in Penang this morning, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said both his party and PKR reached the agreement not to contest for the same seats following their meeting on Monday. Lim said both political parties had agreed to cooperate closely whether at the national or state level to ensure victory for the opposition candidates in the general election this time around. "Both parties have reached a consensus. It's time to get down to serious work to ensure success for us in Penang in the coming poll," said Lim. When asked on the reason as to why DAP has reduced the number of state seats - in 2004 it contested in 20 state seats - Lim said that the party had “given in to politics of compromise and cooperation, rather than the `one-upmanship politics' which marred previous electoral ties between both parties". PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim also told the same press conference that his party will now have to finalise the allocation for the remaining seats with PAS, adding that an announcement on the matter will be made on a later date. " For the other seats involving PAS, a discussion will be held and a separate announcement will be made, and (we) hope the people will give their support to the DAP candidates so that they will win in the constituencies allocated to them," he said.
Anwar said the joint decision reached was based on the agreement of party members at the grassroots level to put up an opposition front in the next general election. "We will make sure that it will straight face-off between us and BN in all seats, not only in Penang but throughout the country," he said.
Dividing the battlefront
The deal between the parties also allowed DAP to contest in the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat while PKR would contest in the Bukit Tambun state seat which falls under the Batu Kawan constituency.
The Batu Kawan seat has long been a thorn between DAP and PKR. In 2004 both the parties vied for this seat, resulting in the opposition vote being split and the BN candidate benefiting from it. Another notable bargain in the allocation was the Pulau Tikus and Kebun Bunga seat exchange between DAP and PKR respectively. When asked by journalists on why Batu Kawan seat was given to the DAP even though it was resisted by PKR members, Anwar said his party members would understand that one tend to win some lose some in negotiation to reach consensus.
In 2004, there were four three-cornered fights between DAP, PKR and BN, including the Batu Kawan seat. Other seats were all state seats - Bukit Tambun, Bagan Dalam and Sungai Pinang, all won by the BN.
The latest agreement would also result in DAP contesting in north area of the island in predominantly Chinese-dominated seats while leaving PKR and PAS to concentrate on the Malay-majority seats in the south west of the island.
The plan would also naturally mean that DAP would be going to battle against MCA and Gerakan while the PKR/PAS combination will take on Umno.
The press conference this morning was also attended by DAP’s veteran leader Lim Kit Siang, PKR’s secretary general Khalid Ibrahim. The respective parties state leaders - DAP’s Chow Kon Yeow and PKR’s Zahrain Mohamed Hashim - were also present.
The DAP seats
Sungai Puyu assemblyperson and State DAP treasurer Phee Poon Boh said the compromise shall not be construed as a defeat to the DAP and victory to PKR.
"It's a reflection of political reality today that to form the next Penang state government, all parties would need to compromise and work collectively to gain support of all voters irrespective of their race and religion to secure victory.
"The DAP can no longer just depend on Chinese votes to win seats. It needs both Malay and Indian votes as well," he said.
At the press conference, Chow and Zahrain signed an agreement on the finalised seat allocation, perhaps to ensure the parties abide by the contract. In a statement later Khalid said that the agreement between PKR and DAP can be pivotal in breaking the BN’s hegemony in the state.
“PKR will cooperate with all parties who are committed in changing the political landscape in Malaysia through democratic means to ensure a clean and efficient administration,” he said.
For the record, the parliamentary seats to be contested by DAP in Penang are Bagan, Bukit Mertajam, Batu Kawan, Bukit Bendera, Tanjong, Jelutong and Bukit Gelugor.
The state seats given to DAP in Penang are Sungai Puyu, Bagan Jermal, Bagan Dalam, Berapit, Padang Lalang, Perai, Jawi, Tanjong Bunga, Air Putih, Pulau Tikus, Padang Kota, Pengkalan Kota, Komtar, Datok Keramat, Sungai Pinang, Batu Lanchang, Seri Delima, Air Itam and Paya Terubong. At present, DAP has four parliamentary seats - Bagan, Bukit Mertajam, Tanjong and Bukit Gelugor - and one state seat, Sungai Puyu in Penang. PKR has one parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh. PAS meanwhile won the Permatang Pasir state seat.
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