Stop citing lack of numbers to roll out reforms, PH told

Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen's aide says leadership isn’t about waiting for the perfect conditions to act.

In a statement, Michael Kong said leadership was not about waiting for the perfect conditions to act, “but about having the courage to act when the opportunity arises”.

Kong, the special assistant to Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen, said the recognition of the UEC was a clear example of this.

He said UEC recognition was explicitly stated in PH’s manifesto.

“Beyond that, both Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah have already recognised the UEC at the state level,” he said, referring to the ruling coalitions in the East Malaysian states.

“This means that securing the required threshold of 112 MPs is not an insurmountable obstacle.”

Kong said even Barisan Nasional (BN), PH’s partner in the unity government, had pledged to recognise the UEC in its election manifesto under the leadership of Najib Razak.

“If BN could take that position then, there is no legitimate justification for opposing it now.

“And those in Umno who continue to support Najib cannot selectively forget this commitment when it becomes politically inconvenient,” he said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said last week that reforms need to be pursued cautiously, with proper consultation among component parties.

“Sometimes, we forget that PH only has 82 parliamentary seats when PKR’s 30 seats are combined with the rest of the coalition’s seats.

“We speak as if we control all 222 seats,” he was quoted as saying.

He also said that obtaining consensus from the leadership of all parties in government was not easy as each party had its own priorities.

Anwar, the PKR president, said last month that he had no issue with proposals to uplift other languages, so long as their advocates remember that the mastery of Bahasa Melayu comes first.