PAS afraid to take on DAP, says Loke

PETALING JAYA: DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook claims PAS is afraid of taking the party head-on at the Johor polls and has instead chosen to rely on its “proxy”, Barisan Nasional (BN).

Loke said PAS’s decision not to field candidates in constituencies contested by DAP was part of a strategy to consolidate votes for BN candidates, particularly those from MCA, Sin Chew reported.

“PAS knows that even if it fields candidates against DAP in the state election, it will not win and will only split the vote.

“That is why it has chosen this approach – to transfer its votes to BN and help MCA candidates win,” Loke was quoted as saying at a ceramah last night.

Loke also described PAS as an unprincipled party as it had urged its supporters to back BN in seats that were not contested by Perikatan Nasional (PN).

He called on Pakatan Harapan (PH) supporters to cast their ballots on July 11, to ensure that the coalition retains its seats. PH won 12 of the 26 seats it contested in the last state polls.

He warned that if BN won more than 50 of the 56 seats it is eyeing in the election, it would result in one-party dominance and weaken Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s position, ultimately affecting the stability of the federal government.

He also said that if BN were to register a huge win, it would remove any need to cooperate with other political parties.

“Johor voters must come out in force to vote, to prevent Johor’s political landscape from becoming overwhelmingly dominated by BN,” he said.

DAP’s former Mengkibol assemblyman Chew Chong Sin previously claimed there was a secret pact between BN and PN for the Johor election, based on the 33 candidates PN is fielding.

Johor Umno dismissed Chew’s claim, saying BN had held no talks with PN.

Earlier today, MCA president Wee Ka Siong also disputed claims that BN and PN were working together to take control of the Johor government, citing four seats in which the coalitions are contesting against each other in the state polls.