A political analyst has warned that the Selangor government could be in trouble if former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim proceeds with his intention to convince DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang that there is no need for the party to be in a coalition with PKR.

Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng said Zaid’s suggestion “does not make sense” and is much easier said than done.

“That is why he (Zaid) is not part of the (Pakatan Harapan) coalition… he doesn’t know how to manage (differences in a coalition).

“In this case, the Selangor government could be in trouble,” Khoo told Malaysiakini.

The Pakatan Harapan Selangor government currently comprises 13 PKR assemblypersons, 15 from DAP and two from Amanah.

This comes after the break-up of the Pakatan Rakyat pact which saw PAS being left out of the federal opposition coalition, along with its 12 assemblypersons in Selangor.

Khoo said this when asked for comment on Zaid’s “dinner invitation” to Lim, where the former Kota Baru MP had intended to make the suggestion over a fancy meal.

"During the dinner I will suggest the following: Forget about the electoral pact altogether.

"It did not work in GE13 and has not worked in the Sarawak election. The best hope for a truly believable opposition pact is between DAP and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah)," Zaid had said in a blog post.

The former PKR leader was responding to the seat dispute between DAP and PKR in the Sarawak state election, which has become fodder for their political rivals as both Pakatan Harapan allies blame each other for the imbroglio.

Both parties must share blame

Khoo, however, was quick to point out that both PKR and DAP must also shoulder their share of the blame.

“These parties need to rein in their own people (in Sarawak)… focus on the bigger agenda. Each party has its own problems to solve.

“It is certainly not as simplistic as Zaid makes it out to be. Even cooperating with only Amanah remains to be a question mark, in terms of grassroots support,” he said.

Khoo argued this was because it is still unclear whether Amanah leaders had succeeded in mobilising enough members to join them in the PAS-splinter party.

In future, Khoo also said all Harapan parties should realise they cannot continue to dupe the people into believing that there is hope for change, unless the leaders themselves are willing to change.

“They have neglected the need to build a cohesive coalition for far too long,” he warned.

PKR and DAP candidates are facing off against each other, along with BN and others, in six seats at the Sarawak polls.