KUCHING: DAP national advisor 
, who is facing a ‘do or die’ battle in Gelang Patah, took great pains yesterday to explain to Sarawakians Pakatan Rakyat’s charge on Putrajaya and the role the state, Sabah and Johor would play in this quest.
He said the opposition pact needed only another 29 seats – nine seats each from Sabah and Johor and 11 from Sarawak – to be able to achieve a “breakthrough”.
He said the Barisan Nasional had dubbed Sabah, Sarawak and Johor as their ‘fixed deposit’ states because they were infact “the kingmakers as they hold within their hands the keys to Putrajaya.”
He said that in the 2008 general election, BN won 140 parliamentary seats against 82 by the Pakatan parties.
The Pakatan results in the three states of Sabah, Sarawak and Johor were particularly dismal.
Pakatan, he said won only three parliamentary seats – Bandar Kuching in Sarawak, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and Bakri in Johor.
“This is why we are now targeting the three BN ‘fixed deposit’ states of Sarawak, Sabah and Johor to start the process to turn them into Pakatan Rakyat ‘fixed deposit’ states,” he said.
He detailed the three challenges for Malaysians in these three ‘fixed deposit’ states which he described as playing a “catalytic” role in enabling Pakatan’s quest for Putrajaya.
“The first challenge is to achieve a breakthrough of at least one-third of the parliamentary seats in each of the state, that is, at least nine parliamentary seats each for Sabah and Johor and 11 seats for Sarawak, giving a total of 29 seats to PR (Pakatan),” he said.
“The second challenge is to add 29 parliamentary seats to 80 seats won in Peninsular Malaysia in 2008 (two more each from Sarawak and Sabah) will yield at total of 109 parliamentary seats, just three short of the magic figure of 112 to win a simple majority in Parliament of 222 MPs.
“Thirdly, a challenge to the three BN ‘fixed deposit’ states of Sarawak, Sabah and Johor is which state can emerge as the leading state to win the biggest total of parliamentary seats to catapult Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya,” Lim added.
Politics of the future
Urging Sarawakians to help change the federal government in order to save Malaysia, Kit Siang said it was time for a new government to take over so that ” we can introduce the politics of the future to replace the politics of the past.”
“The politics of the past is the politics of corruption, abuse of power, injustices, bad governance, transparency, accountability and the politics of race such as Umno for the Malays, MCA for the Chinese and MIC for the Indians.
“The politics of the past is the politics of race and the politics of rampant corruption, cronyism, massive abuses of power, gross violation of democratic and human rights, injustices, unsustainable development because of despoliation of the government, lack of transparency, accountability and good governance.
“If we want to save Malaysia and Sarawak, we need a change of government,” he told a media conference here yesterday evening.
Lim is in Kuching to help Pakatan candidates in Serian and Mas Gading. Pakatan is in a three-cornered fight in Serian. The incumbent is BN’s Richard Riot. The other candidate is State Reform Party’s (STAR) Johnny Aput.
In Mas Gading it’s a four-way fight. The incumbent Dr Tiki Lafe is contesting as a BN-friendly incumbent. Against him are BN’s Anthony Nogeh, PKR and STAR candidates.
He said the coming general election would be the most historic and significant one in the 56-year history of the nation.
“It is the battle between the politics of the future represented by Pakatan Rakyat coalition verses the politics of past practised by the Barisan Nasional in the past few decades.
“The politics of the future transcends racial politics where Malaysians unite not because they are Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans or Kadazans, but because they are Malaysian patriots who dare to dream of the Malaysian dream to create a more harmonious, just, free, progressive and prosperous Malaysia for all Malaysians,” he said.
He said five years ago change appeared to be an impossible dream and nobody dared to hope or dream of effecting a change of the federal government under the current system of parliamentary democracy.
“Now such a dream of a new federal government to replace the Umno-BN government in Putrajaya is no more an impossible dream, but eminently achievable, possible and probable.
