Selangor DAP committee member Rajiv Rishyakaran claimed the Muda leadership was split when it came to deciding between going solo for the state polls or sticking with its allies in the unity government.
“I know it was not an easy decision. I would like to officially welcome the leadership and members of Muda who advocated for sticking with Pakatan Harapan to join DAP in facing the state elections,” he said in a Twitter post.
Rajiv, who won the Bukit Gasing state seat in the 14th general election, warned that splitting the votes among parties in the federal government would only benefit Perikatan Nasional at the polls.
“Some seats in Selangor, Kedah and Negeri Sembilan will be tightly contested and it truly will come down to a handful of votes to decide who’s the winner.”
Earlier, Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman announced that his party will go solo in the state polls, setting up potential clashes with PH and Barisan Nasional despite being a part of the government bloc in the Dewan Rakyat.
The Muar MP also dismissed the notion that Muda would be splitting the votes, saying this was just “fear-mongering tactics”.
Muda and PH had agreed on an electoral pact for the 15th general election (GE15).
Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu will be holding elections soon with the dissolution of the respective state assemblies by the end of the month. Selangor was the first with the state assembly being dissolved on June 23 with a caretaker state government taking charge.
Meanwhile, Amanah communications director Khalid Samad urged Muda to reconsider its decision to go solo, and to contest with the unity government rather than going against it.
“It is not the right time for Muda to make its solo debut now when the national agenda is fighting racial politics,” he told FMT.
The former Shah Alam MP also pointed out that Muda did not hold any seats in the six states, saying it was unnecessary for the party to throw its hat in the ring on its own.
PKR’s Segamat MP R Yuneswaran said Muda’s decision was premature, claiming PH was going to reach out to Muda for seat talks eventually.
“The other big coalition in the government is BN so negotiations with them must be done first. Once we’ve settled with BN, then we need to discuss with the three main parties in PH, and only then the rest,” he said.
Umno Youth permanent chairman Wan Agyl Wan Hassan also criticised Muda’s decision, saying the party should have gone solo in GE15.
Wan Agyl also claimed Muda lacked a clear political stand or ideology, which would make it hard for voters to understand its core belief and vision for governance.
“Without a concrete political stance and ideology, Muda might find it difficult to distinguish itself from other parties and build a stable base of supporters.”