Tonight’s launch of Johor Pakatan Harapan, comprising the four component parties of DAP, PKR, Amanah and Pribumi Bersatu, is historic for it is the launch of a campaign to establish a new Pakatan Harapan Federal Government in Putrajaya and a new Pakatan Harapan State Government in Johor.
Sixty years ago, we achieved Merdeka on August 31, 2017. We should today be one of the world’s top-class nations in every field of human endeavor as well as an example to the troubled world as to how a nation of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures like Malaysia could succeed as a united, harmonious, just, democratic, progressive and prosperous nation.
Instead, 60 years after Merdeka in 1957, we are in the danger of becoming an international disgrace with Malaysians dragged into the abyss with three problems – worsening economic crisis plaguing the country, most serious racial and religious polarization with the UMNO/BN coalition playing the race and religious card to try to keep themselves in power and Malaysia becoming overnight a global kleptocracy especially because of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal.
Only Pakatan Harapan can save Johor and Malaysia from these triple ills, to ensure that the ordinary people, regardless of race, religion, region, socio-economic status or even politics, fully enjoy the true meaning of Merdeka we achieved 60 years ago.
I have said that if there is a swing of 10 per cent of Malay votes and five per cent of non-Malay votes from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Harapan in the 14th General Election as compared to the 13th General Election, there will be a Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya. This is because out of the 165 Parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia, Pakatan Harapan would have won 113 seats, BN 50 and PAS two. The total PH parliamentary score will be more when Sabah and Sarawak’s support for PH is taken into consideration.
But we must set our sights higher for we must aim not only at a new Pakatan Harapan Federal Government in Putrajaya and ensure that Penang and Selangor remain firmly in the hands of Pakatan Harapan, we also want to establish new Pakatan Harapan state governments in Johor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Kedah.
[Speech (2) at the launch of Johor Pakatan Harapan at Taman Dahlia, Tampoi, Johor Baru on Friday, 29th September 2017 at 9 pm]