SHAH ALAM, Aug 27 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today stressed that the coalition’s machinery will be prepared and well-oiled by October to face the 15th general election (GE15).
Speaking to the press after PKR’s Election Convention, he said that it does not matter if GE15 is called in a month or a year’s time, the coalition will be prepared to take on and win against rivals Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
“The focus today is the elections. PKR’s election director has already set several strategies in place, and we will be ready for elections to be called either next month, or next year. We can see here that our comrades are stoked and excited, and they are ready to mobilise any time.
“We will be fully ready by October (to face GE15) because Budget 2023 will be tabled in October. As we know, that means elections soon. Ismail Sabri is too weak right now because he is under pressure from Umno leadership.
“He is not a prime minister who can make decisions on his own,” he said.
When questioned about PH’s previous Big Tent strategy, Anwar said that the coalition has moved away from that strategy, and it will focus instead on constantly increasing the coalition’s strengths.
“In the last PH presidential meeting, we decided that our goal is to strengthen PH as it is first. Full stop,” he said.
He also said that the PH presidential council also decided that going into GE15, the coalition agreed that it would be contesting under the same logo; however, PKR would be making several adjustments to its strategy to ensure they win big.
“Firstly, we admit there were several weaknesses in Melaka and Johor, and we have switched up our strategy. The situation has also changed.
“So, during the last PH meeting, our decision was to contest under the same logo, but we will make several adjustments to let the people know that we will not be the same government that was pushed out after 22 months.
“For PKR, itself, our strategy is far different, and will be explained soon,” he said.
Earlier, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli announced that potential seats and candidates would be announced within the next month.
Calls for an early election by Umno have been a constant theme throughout Ismail Sabri’s rule, with many speculating that the government’s decision to push forward the tabling of Budget 2023 might signal an impending GE15.
