Opposition parties must re-strategise and form a common campaign in facing the BN, says former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee.
SAPP president Yong Teck Lee said PKR was too ambitious and instead of concentrating its resources on marginal areas, the party had spread itself too thin all over the vast state.
“As a result, all 13 marginal seats were lost to BN. BN also managed to turn around ‘black areas’ like Bawang Assan and Senadin, both defended by a demoralised SUPP (Sarawak United People’s Party).
“If the opposition had concentrated its resources on these 15 areas, then it could have won a formidable 28 or more (seats), thus denying BN its two-thirds majority.
“PKR also wasted much precious time and resources fighting fellow Pakatan partner SNAP (Sarawak National Party). The end results show that PKR has beaten not only SNAP but also itself.
“This is a self-inflicted damage that could have been avoided,” he said.
Yong said he had reminded PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim that the opposition should not underestimate BN’s political will to remain in power.
“BN leaders have too much to lose and will fight tooth and nail to remain in government. Of all people, Anwar, a former Umno acting prime minister, should know what I mean.
“Not everyone is like SAPP which walked out of the incumbent BN government and chose to fight from outside. It takes time and effort to build a strong team based on consensus.
“The days of top-down coercion from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah and Sarawak are over. KL-based parties must accept this fact in order to strengthen the opposition in Sabah and Sarawak,” the former Sabah chief minister said.
Combined strengths
Yong also urged the opposition parties to re-strategise and come up with a common opposition campaign in the coming general election.
He said the opposition must note that based on the just-concluded state polls, the opposition will capture only four to five seats in the main towns out of the 31 in Sarawak.
Yong said it was important for the Sabah opposition to realise that the key to changing the government lay in the combined strengths of both the rural and urban areas that cut across demographic lines.
“A rally of 35,000 people in Penang was sufficient to change the state government in 2008. But in Kuching, a rally of 35,000 cannot even change the city mayor.
“This means that just relying on urban or rural areas alone is not sufficient.
“We must win in both the rural and urban areas. In the rural areas, local issues, party organisation, personal strengths of candidates and the smart use of resources are crucial factors in beating the BN’s vastly superior machinery.
“Hence, the opposition must urgently and sincerely re-strategise for the general election,” he said.
Yong believes that a change of federal government is only possible if Sabah and Sarawak shift away from the BN to the opposition.
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