KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) is aiming to win 20 of Negeri Sembilan’s 36 seats to retain the state government, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said.
He added that the coalition would campaign on its record in office rather than engage in divisive politics despite expecting a tough challenge from Barisan Nasional (BN).
In an interview with Singapore-based media organisation CNA, Loke described 20 seats as PH’s “best-case scenario”, enough to secure a simple majority in the state assembly and form the government.
“I want to run … a campaign of hope that things will be better,” he said.
The August 1 election was triggered after the Negeri Sembilan legislative assembly was dissolved following a political crisis in which 14 Umno assemblymen briefly withdrew support for Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun’s administration before reversing their decision.
Loke, who has represented the Chennah state constituency since 2013, said he expected “very stiff competition”, particularly from BN and its component party MCA.
“Mine is a very mixed seat, so I need to garner the support from both the Chinese … as well as our Muslim voters,” he said.
Rather than responding to attacks from political rivals, Loke said PH would focus its campaign on its record in government, its plans for the state and what it could continue to deliver for voters if returned to power.
“We will be looking to run a positive campaign, try and talk about what we should do, what we can do, what we have achieved and what we can do for the people,” he said.
Loke said he would personally oversee the coalition’s campaign messaging.
“I will personally oversee the campaign and narrative,” he said.
He acknowledged that opponents were likely to continue portraying DAP as a threat to Malay-Muslim interests and the institution of the Malay rulers, but argued that such attacks were aimed less at hurting DAP than weakening PH’s component parties contesting Malay-majority constituencies.
“We are the punching bag and the bogeyman,” he said.
“This strategy and these tricks, to be honest, will not hurt the DAP in our constituencies. It will hurt our component parties (in PH that will contest in Malay-majority seats) … We contest in mainly non-Malay majority seats,” he said.
Loke also declined to be drawn into the ongoing dispute over the Negeri Sembilan royal succession, saying it should be resolved within the institution itself.
“The royal crisis in Negeri Sembilan must be resolved within the royal institution based on the customs and the laws of the institution,” he said.