Anwar: Concurrent polls better, less chance for BN to attack Pakatan

Wong Choon Mei

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim believes that holding the 13th General Election simultaneously with the Sarawak state polls will benefit Pakatan Rakyat as it will force the ruling Barisan Nasional to diversify its resources and even up the odds for the opposition.


Sarawak DAP leaders have said concurrent polls would benefit BN and confuse the people. However, Anwar who is known for his political savvy pointed out that there was also a flip side to that view.

According to him, the Pakatan had limited resources and could not afford to sink all its money into Sarawak only to be attacked by Prime Minister Najib Razak when it was in a financially weakened condition for the other 12 states.

“Pakatan Rakyat’s funds and machinery and strength cannot just focus in one constituency. We have the strength of our respective bases to defend our constituencies,” Anwar told reporters on Sunday.

“We are weaker in by-elections because their whole machinery will be concentrated in one constituency, but in the general election, they need to look after every single one and that’s when we attack all the constituencies."

Whether 2011 or 2012, polls are getting closer

There have been contrasting views amongst political pundits as to whether Najib would really conduct national polls this year or delay until the last date in 2013.

Anwar has stuck with his view that the GE will be held in 2011 and sooner rather than later, giving a fast-deteriorating economy as his reason why Najib would be forced to rush through an electoral outcome.

“There is little chance BN can regain two-thirds parliamentary majority anyway. They are trying to implement oppressive guidelines like curbing the Internet and push through questionable new laws like proxy-voting systems in the March parliamentary sitting, so it does look like GE may take place earlier,” PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud had said on Friday he intended to discuss again the prospect of concurrent polls with Najib soon. Perhaps in a bid to deflect attention and take Pakatan by surprise, the BN has through its media implied many times that it was Taib who wanted the joint polls rather than Najib.

Taib must hold state elections by July this year, and despite bravado that his hold on the state was as strong as before, he has been wary of dissolving Parliament. The last time that Sarawak held its state elections simultaneously with the GE election was 37 years ago, in 1974.