KUCHING: Tension between Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Democratic Action Party (DAP) may boil over, if not checked quickly, and affect both parties badly at the polls.
The ominous warning came from political analyst Dr Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal who said this was because opposition parties usually banked on fence-sitters to make a difference.
“The conflict among the two component parties could thus prove detrimental to them.
“Fence-sitters may lean towards GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) in their frustration over any unresolved struggle between the two parties,” he added.
In the run-up to the Dec 18 state election DAP and PKR have been openly squabbling over seat-sharing arrangements with no indication of any resolution in sight.
Towards this end Ammar, who is a Language and Communication Faculty academic at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) said these two parties must learn from GPS in dealing with such issues without triggering any media or public attention.
“Perhaps this might be colossal for the opposition coalition that continuously struggles for power and domination,” he said.
Ammar said the opposition must concede that unity is an element regarded highly by voters, hence, they need to sit and deliberate internally to discuss the seat allocation issue.
“The recent result in the Melaka state election might also be a blow to the opposition coalition’s confidence,” he added.
Having said that, Ammar felt the opposition would give a strong showing especially in their incumbents’ seats.
