I want to give a full assurance to MCA and Gerakan – DAP no intention whatsoever to eliminate MCA and Gerakan.
The placement of DAP candidates in Ayer Hitam, Teluk Intan and Labis is not because DAP intends to eliminate MCA and Gerakan, as DAP is fully aware that we are incapable of performing this feat, apart from the fact that it is never the intention or objective of DAP to eliminate MCA, Gerakan or any political party in the country.
No other political party can eliminate MCA or Gerakan, as only MCA itself can eliminate MCA, and Gerakan itself can eliminate the Gerakan, by adopting policies and measures Which deprives them of all public support, because they have rendered themselves completely irrelevant and marginalized.
Can the DAP cause the MCA and the Gerakan leaders to adopt policies and measures which make their political parties completely irrelevant or marginalized? No, unless the MCA and Gerakan leaders have become puppets or stooges of DAP.
The placement of DAP candidates in Ayer Hitam, Teluk Intan and Labis, as well as other constituencies contested by the DAP is prompted by one imperative – to help the Pakatan Harapan to win at least 120 parliamentary seats in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 and end the uninterrupted UMNO/BN rule in Putrajaya as the Malaysian Government.
If Pakatan Harapan is to achieve the objective of replacing UMNO/BN as the Malaysian Government, it will have to overcome the many obstacles and undemocratic conditions of the 14th General Elections.
For instance, Bersih had said that in a worst-case scenario, Najib could continue as Prime Minister and UMNO/BN continue as Malaysian Government in Putrajaya with 16.5 per cent of the popular vote under the redelineation of electoral constituencies just before the dissolution of Parliament.
Policy analyst Lim Teck Ghee was even more pessimistic, estimating that Pakatan Harapan has only 10 per cent chance of toppling UMNOB/BN to form the next Malaysian Government in Putrajaya.
This is why Pakatan Harapan needs “game-changers” to overcome these undemocratic rules and conditions in the Malaysian electoral process.
The placement of DAP candidates is one such “game changer”, and another is the DAP leadership’s decision not to use the Rocket symbol but to use the Pakatan Harapan common logo of PKR’s blue eyes to send out a clear and unmistakable message to all voters, including the 3.6 million UMNO members, the one million PAS members and the one million MCA members that in the 14GE, saving Malaysia from a rogue and kleptocratic state is a higher patriotic duty than being members of a political party.
I am surprised that MCA and Gerakan leaders are panicking at the DAP placement of candidates, regarding this is as an effort by DAP to eliminate MCA and Gerakan.
DAP should feel flattered that MCA and Gerakan leaders believe that DAP can eliminate them, but no, DAP is incapable of eliminating them as only MCA and Gerakan are capable of eliminating themselves by making themselves completely irrelevant and marginalizedbecause irrelevant and marginalized policies and measures.
(Press Conference Statement at DAP Labis Branch to announce the DAP/Pakatan Harapan Candidate for Labis, Pang Hock Liong,on Wednesday, 18th April 2018 at 3 pm)
