Chong: PH can form govt if retains its 10 S’wak seats
KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan (PH) stands a very good chance of forming the federal government come Nov 19 if the coalition at state-level can retain its 10 seats, said PH Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
Chong, who is also Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman, said based on surveys carried out by various research institutions, as of 6am Tuesday, PH would likely win between 90 and 100 seats in Peninsular Malaysia, followed by Perikatan Nasional (PN) with 42 to 52 seats, and Barisan Nasional (BN) with 32 to 42 seats.
“Therefore, as at the time of these surveys, PH in a worst-case scenario would need 22 seats from Sabah and Sarawak to win GE15, or in the best-case scenario, 12 seats.
“For PH to win 22 seats from East Malaysia may seem an insurmountable task, but to win 12 seats in East Malaysia is very possible.
“What’s more, there are still another four days of campaigning to go and with the momentum building up in Peninsular Malaysia, the winnable seats for PH are increasing by the day,” he told a press conference prior to campaigning at a BDC food court here yesterday.
The DAP candidate for Stampin urged Sarawakians to vote for PH on Nov 19 to prevent Umno from reclaiming the federal administration.
He reiterated that a vote for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) was akin to a vote for Umno.
“Both (Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri) Abang Jo and (caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Ismail Sabri have openly announced on Monday (Nov 14) that they will cooperate with each other to form the federal government after the election.
“Though SUPP president Dr Sim tried to cast some doubt on the Umno-GPS cooperation after GE15 by claiming that GPS might cooperate with other coalitions, his view has never been the deciding factor in GPS.
“He could not even decide on the SUPP candidates contesting under the GPS logo,” Chong claimed.
He said GPS and BN had been partners for the past decades since the formation of the latter in 1973.
“In March 2020 after the Sheraton Move, and again in August 2021 after Muhyiddin (Yassin) stepped down, GPS again showed its loyalty to Umno by joining BN, Bersatu, and PAS to form the government.
“Therefore, to expect the GPS to join hands with PH to form the federal government is asking for the impossible. A vote to GPS is definitely a vote to put Umno back in power,” he said.
He also claimed that if Umno is returned to power, PH may need another half a century to defeat the party.
“If Umno fails to regain power after GE15, we will see another implosion within Umno and that will spell the end of the party. But on the other hand, if Umno regains power in GE15, it will regroup and consolidate at the expense of the country as a whole,” he opined.
He called on Sarawakians not to be hoodwinked by GPS into supporting Umno by voting for the state coalition.