DAP will lose up to five out of its 42 parliamentary seats, if it doesn’t find the right formula to face the next general election, Lim Guan Eng said.

The party’s national chairman said there is still time to retain all its seats provided campaigners work hard, pool their strength and not fight each other, uniting against Barisan Nasional.

“With the right message, leadership and teamwork we can win again our seats in Selangor and other states we won in 2018,” Lim said today.

Lim said they must learn their lessons from Malacca, Sarawak and Johor.

“Do not blame the low voter turnout but ask why we failed to mobilise our supporters to come out and vote?

“Identify our weaknesses in communicating with the rakyat and the need to concentrate on more than one issue, while addressing cost of living, which matters to the rakyat.”

The Bagan MP said DAP’s supporters don’t want an opposition. They want a party to aim to be in government to implement policies that can change their lives for the better.

“These are the lessons we have learnt from Malacca and Sarawak that we have addressed and allowed us to perform above public expectations, and despite the lower turnout in Johor, DAP won 10 out of the 14 seats contested, instead of the expected five seats.

“However, we have still not overcome the low voter turnout that would have allowed us to do better.

“We must rebut the baseless racist and extremist allegations and the lies that we imposed new taxes whilst we were in power. We must articulate people-centric issues.”

During the Johor polls on March 12, BN coalition bagged 40 of the 56 seats up for grabs, defeating Pakatan Harapan, which won 11 seats. Of those 11, PKR – which set itself apart under its own logo – claimed only one.

Lim said that PH needs to share its victories so that together each party can win more seats.

“There is no point for DAP or PKR winning seats using our respective logos if we cannot win power together.

“For this reason, there must be a common logo acceptable to all. The Johor elections have proven that the PH logo has won more seats compared to other opposition parties.”

People-centric issues must be addressed

He said DAP will continue to address people-centric issues, inflation and rising prices that can be mitigated with a price stabilisation fund.

This, he said, can be done by postponing the increase in electricity tariffs for commercial users by as much as 20%, opposing the withdrawal of tax exemption on foreign-sourced income.

He said PH must not fear to admit their shortcomings but must also explain their successes while in power in both Selangor and Putrajaya.

“What we have achieved not only for all ethnic communities but also for Sabah and Sarawak.

“We are afraid to win if we fear to explain our shortcomings or what we have delivered.

“Only then can we inspire hope that PH is still the best vehicle to bring change to Malaysia that can benefit our children.”

He added that they have to start now, work hard and gear up their campaign infrastructure for the coming general elections with its allies nationwide.

“For a start, small-scale ceramah followed by nationwide tours of leaders are necessary,” Lim added. – March 26, 2022.