‘Pakatan won’t become BN 2.0’

‘Pakatan won’t become BN 2.0’

Leaders proclaim Pakatan will continue to be a coalition of equals, with no dominant party, unlike BN.

pakatan-harapan-1
PETALING JAYA:
At a recent ceramah, Mukhriz Mahathir recounted the time he met a supporter who asked him if there was any guarantee Pakatan Harapan would not become another Barisan Nasional (BN).

The opposition has of late been accusing the ruling coalition of mismanaging the people’s money.

The PPBM deputy president assured the supporter that PH won’t go the way of the “tyrannical” BN government.

His argument? If PH wins Putrajaya, it means the people have rejected corruption and leaders who steal from the people.

“If voters punish the old government for such things, we won’t dare repeat such mistakes, because we don’t want to be punished in the following general election.”

But Mukhriz isn’t the only one who feels that way.

His PH colleague, DAP vice-chairman M Kulasegaran says that BN and PH are like apples and oranges, which one should not compare.

“We are entirely different.

“We are determined to eradicate corruption. We want to see that the country’s finances are better handled and for the people to have a happy life and much more,” said the Ipoh Barat MP to FMT.

Kulasegaran said in the Pakatan Harapan coalition, all parties are equal, whereas in BN, their “big brother”, Umno, decides everything.

Amanah communications director Khalid Samad also agreed that in Pakatan Harapan even if other component parties accept it or not, there is no ”big brother” who calls the shots.

“Because we don’t have a ‘big brother’ kind of approach in our coalition, I think you would most likely be saved from the political culture of BN.

“We want to replace BN but do not in any way wish to emulate BN.

“It has been emphasised many times at our meetings that Pakatan Harapan is a coalition of equals,”  the Shah Alam MP told FMT.

“We don’t want to be BN 2.0.”

DAP’s Anthony Loke brought up the issue on March 27 stating that as far as Pakatan Harapan is concerned, the coalition consists of all equals and no one party takes the lead.

“As far as Pakatan Harapan is concerned, we are a coalition of equals. There is no issue of which party leads the coalition.

“There is no one party that will dominate the coalition. That will make Pakatan different from BN. We are not BN2.0,” Loke said in the news report.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.