Barisan Nasional (BN) has failed to realise that voters have the final say in the survival of any political party, said DAP vice-president M Kula Segaran.

“It is not in the hands of either (premier) Najib (Abdul Razak) or (his deputy) Muhyiddin (Yassin) to decide whether Pakatan Rakyat can survive in the two years to come,” he said.

“Let the next general election decide the fate of Pakatan and its coalition partners. Our political fate lies in the hands of the voters.”

maika holding shareholders meeting 300807 kulasegaran Kula was reacting to predictions by Najib and Muhyiddin that Pakatan will crumble soon due to infighting among component parties PAS, DAP and PKR over differences in their ideology and agenda.

Telling BN to look after its political backyard, Kula argued that it faces a greater degree of internal problems.

These include greed for power and positions and fighting over personal agendas and survival since the general election in March last year.

BN once practised a closed-door system to iron out its problems, but this has not worked since the general election, noted Kula.

“Its members are now openly revolting and prefer to take their problems to the streets and the media,” he claimed.

At the same time, the traditional media - which is controlled by BN - has chosen to close an eye to such political upheavals while “magnifying every small problems faced by Pakatan partners”.

“People voted them into power with high expectations but, sad to say, BN elected representatives are not living up to voters’ standards due to internal political bickering.

“Their arrogance and indifference to the wishes of the people will doom them. We (however) have public support on the ground - it still strong although BN is painting the wrong picture of our coalition.”

Teething problems

Kula conceded that there are differences of opinion on many issues within the Pakatan parties.

He said this is normal for a coalition that is in its infancy but that, with time and mutual understanding, these problems can resolved.

NONE The top Pakatan leaders are cooperating closely, he explained. The bickering over trivial issues is mainly among members at lower levels.

“Pakatan leaders will soon meet to come up with an internal mechanism to address the grouses among members,” he added.

“However, there is greater democracy in voicing differences among party members in Pakatan, compared to BN where the shadow of Umno silences any form of dissent among component parties.”