PAKATAN Harapan must reorganise the opposition if it wants to repeat its 2018 electoral success, said Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

“We must micro analyse all 222 seats to find a way to avoid multi-cornered contests,” said the Amanah leader on a forum last night.

‘While not all seats should be one-on-one contests as some seats can only be won if they are contested by more parties, PH must reorganise the opposition if it wants to win again.”

PH lost badly in the last three state elections in Malacca, Sarawak and Johor. 

A reason for the defeats was multi-cornered battles.

Although the parliament term only expires in July 2023, a general election is widely expected be held this year. Parties have begun holding forums in preparation for the polls. 

“We should not talk about any tents now. What is important is we reorganise the opposition to avoid losing easily to Barisan Nasional,” said the Kuala Selangor MP, referring to calls for PH to get the opposition to come together under one “big tent”.

Earlier, Ilham Centre executive director Hisomuddin Bakar said all was not lost despite the heavy defeats in Malacca and Johor.

The pollster said although BN won 40 of the 56 seats in Johor, it only won 43% of the popular vote and 36% of the Malay vote.

“Pakatan lost the mixed seats to BN because it lost Malay votes. Those votes went to Perikatan Nasional. 

“What this means is that BN has not recovered completely and there is still room for PH and the opposition to find the right formula.”

Hisomuddin, however, warned PH that it needs to strengthen its machinery and not look divided if it wants to make any impact in the general election.

“Although PN was a new party it managed to present itself as one. Hence, voters were voting for PN and not Bersatu or PAS. But PH still looks like three separate parties – PKR, DAP and Amanah,” said the political analyst. 

Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil, who was at the forum, said PKR has a lot of work to do in the next elections after the betrayal of Bersatu in the Sheraton Move.

“Our first priority is to defend what we have and then find a way to win back the seats that have defected,” said Fahmi.

He said while all the parties were affected by Bersatu’s defection in 2020, PKR suffered the most as it lost more than 10 MPs to other parties and resignations.

“As such, we have to find a way to keep what we have and then see how to win back Gombak, Ampang, Batu Pahat, Tebrau, etc.”

The forum was moderated by Amanah youth election director Asmaaliff Abdul Adam. – June 23, 2022.