ALOR STAR: Faced with internal dissent and issues, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is not likely to have it easy in the 14th General Election.
The opposition pact had set its eyes on all 15 parliamentary seats at stake and likely almost all the 36 state seats in Kedah.
But putting a formidable team for the polls will not be an easy task for the coalition made up of DAP, PKR, Parti Amanah Negara (PAN) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).
Political analyst Dr Rusdi Omar said PPBM will have to first deal with grouses among members including those who had left the party.
“As for PKR, there are those who find it hard to accept PH’s choice of PPBM chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the Prime Minister designate, should the coalition win the people’s mandate to form the government,” he said.
Protests, some veiled and some open, had surfaced after Dr Mahathir was named as the Prime Minister designate from several states, particularly among the younger generation.
On top of that there is also the prospects of facing three cornered fights against the Barisan Nasional and PAS that will be contesting in all the state and parliamentary constituencies.
Kedah Umno chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah said PPBM will have a hard time convincing its coalition partners that it could win all the seats allocated for them.
“Even to name candidates will not be an easy task because PKR and DAP surely will not stand quiet and demand for bigger share.
“It is not surprising for them to drag the people in their own confusion which in the end can destroy the people and the nation,” he said.
PH at its convention in Shah Alam recently had announced that PPBM will contest in 52 seats, PKR (51), DAP (35) and PAN (27) out of 165 parliamentary seats in the peninsular.
In Kedah, PPBM and PKR are slated to contest in six parliamentary constituencies respectively, while PAN will be contesting the three remaining seats.
As for the state seats PPBM and PKR are expected to contest in 12 constituencies each, PAN in nine seats and DAP in three seats.
Kedah Pas commissioner Dr Ahmad Fakhruddin Fakhrurazi too said it will not be easy for Pakatan Harapan without a proper machinery.
