Charging DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is part of a ploy by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to win the next general election by default, claimed DAP lawmaker Liew Chin Tong.

Liew said Najib probably reckoned that this was the only way his party, Umno, could win the next general election.

Najib's ploy, he said, included the conviction of former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, as well as PAS being a spoiler in the twin by-elections earlier this month.

"We are in a difficult situation because Najib is trying to win the election by default, putting PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim behind bars and trying to charge Guan Eng," he said at an event last night.

Lim, who is Penang chief minister, was arrested last night over allegations of corruption related to the purchase of his Penang bungalow.

Liew, who is also Kluang MP, saw the hudud controversy and kafir harbi statement by Pahang mufti Abdul Rahman Osman as tactics to prevent any possibility of realignment between the opposition coalition and the Umno rebels dubbed '4M'.

'4M' is a term Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia uses to describe former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, former Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir - all of whom have exited the party - and Umno vice-president Mohd Shafie Apdal, who was suspended.

Liew was speaking at a forum on 'Malaysia: Is there hope yet?', organised by Pakatan Harapan to discuss the road ahead after the coalition's poor performance in Sarawak state polls and in June 18 twin by-elections.

Other speakers were Amanah communications director Khalid Samad, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua, and PKR supreme council member William Leong.

November snap polls expected

Liew speculated the worst case scenario would be Najib calling for snap elections as early as November, right after the government puts forward PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's Private Member's Bill on Act 355 to implement hudud in Kelantan.

Liew described this as a recycled plot for the government to create three-cornered fights in the snap polls, replicating the recent twin by-elections that saw Umno defeating a divided opposition.

If this happened, he expected Pakatan Harapan wouold enter the battlefield unprepared.

The opposition may regress to the 2004 general election, where they only won 19 parliamentary seats, he speculated.

"We are not fighting a normal election. Do not expect a smooth path. Do not expect a clean, fair and transparent election," he said.

Liew proposed the coalition embark on three measures to create a strong wave of change among the general public, especially among the people in semi-urban constituencies.

"We need to explain (thoroughly) that PAS is in concert with BN. We need to do our realignment - to work with Amanah - to create a real alternative.

"We have to (figure out) how to realign with 4M so they can play an important role in removing Najib and BN.

"People like Muhyiddin can play an important role in Johor, while Mukhriz and PAS leader Mahfuz Omar will be an important tag team in the north.

"I think Muhyiddin has no choice. He can either retire or stand against BN," said Liew, who is also Johor DAP chairperson.

"The political leaders have to be courageous to make this happen," he added.

Address Malay underclass

Liew also acknowledged that raising awareness on corruption was not enough to persuade the people to vote for the opposition.

"Change is not just about being anti-corruption, it also means we should have a policy plan, which we didn't do much previously (because we) thought the people were not interested then," he said.

He said the opposition must to look into economic democratisation processes particularly involving the Malays, to address their "manipulated hatred" against non-Malays and DAP.

"Very often (we see) the manipulated hatred against DAP and other races. We believe that economically, the Malays are under threat. It points to economic insecurity.

"How do we address the economic insecurity of the underclass and of the ordinary Malays, and present a clear idea of how to move forward?" he said.

Liew said a strong wave of change would not happen without the people doing their part by pushing a peer-to-peer campaign, just like in the 2013 general election, he said.

Overcome religious politics

Meanwhile, Leong said political Islam, which dominated the country for four decades, should be replaced with a new narrative that allows the country to achieve its dream of a united Malaysia.

"We cannot run away from the fact that we are a multiracial country, we cannot run away from the fact that we are more divided than we think," he said.

"The 12th general election gave us an illusion that it was easy to win, but it did not deal with the fact that we have different dreams and ideas," he added.

He said Harapan's defeat in both Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar were expected.

"The hard fact is the need to adopt tolerance, understanding, and the need to be new narrative," he said.

He also called for non-Muslims to read religious books and ask their Muslim friends on matters related to Islam.

"You can ask a Muslim friend, is this what the religion is about? Is it that you really need hudud and an Islamic state," he said.

"At the time of Nabi Muhammad, there was no concept of state," he stressed.