'Pakatan can't take Putrajaya on its own'

Pakatan Rakyat must form a wider coalition with smaller parties if it plans to capture Putrajaya, or it could hand victory on a golden platter to BN in the next general election.

Hum an Rights Party advisor N Ganesan said Pakatan will not be ready should Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak call a snap poll early next year.

Although the Pakatan-ruled states - Kedah, Kelantan, Penang and Selangor - can decide their own election dates, Najib will take advantage of the situation and call for a general election to coincide with Sarawak polls, he said.

“If this happens, BN can push Pakatan out anytime as the latter is at a very low point and is not prepared to face the coming polls yet,” he said at the party office in Prai.

“If Pakatan wants to push out BN instead, it must have a broader coalition, or it will hand victory to BN easily.”

Ganesan, who is also a central committee member, was responding to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s statement at the coalition’s inaugural convention that Pakatan would decide the date for the respective state-level polls, and not BN.

‘Prevent spoilers’

Ganesan said that, to capture Putrajaya, Pakatan must cooperate with smaller parties like HRP and other parties from Sabah and Sarawak as they are all likely to field candidates.

“They cannot say we are spoilers then. All we are asking is that they (Pakatan) accommodate our needs and consider policies for minority rights because eventually it will affect everyone, not merely Indians or Hindus.

“We are concerned about issues like Islam encroaching on minority rights, inequality, and rehabilitative action for the poor. Do you think our demands are unreasonable?”

Ganesan said that, if Pakatan does not accept this strategy, it will have to face the election on its own.

HRP, launched in July last year is working out its election strategy, with a view to  contesting a minimum of seven and a maximum of 15 seats nationwide.

Najib had yesterday dismissed the possibility of snap polls, calling these mere rumours. He also dismissed speculation that a cabinet reshuffle is imminent.