KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke is sticking to his position that the state legislative assemblies of Pakatan Harapan (PH) helmed Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan should not be dissolved.
This is in line with the PH presidential council’s decision to this effect, which was announced last week, but differences of opinion have since surfaced over the past few days.
“Some confusion is to be expected because voters in semenanjung are not used to having a separate state election.
“But actually, our system of governance is a federal system — a separate election for Parliament and the state legislative assemblies. This is not something new for the federal system, and in many other countries, it has always been separate,” Loke told Malay Mail in an interview.
He added that this was the norm in Sabah and Sarawak and only the peninsula had not experienced this until recently, when Melaka and Johor conducted state elections last year and earlier this year respectively.
Loke, who is also incumbent Seremban MP, explained that the PH presidential council took into consideration the impending monsoon season that is due to begin November.
“Why did PH make this decision? Of course, it is subject to further discussions right now, whether we should review the decision. But why we made this decision earlier on is that we had told the federal government it is not a good time to have an election because of the monsoon season.
“We believe that the state assemblies should not be dissolved right now because we have to maintain that authority at the state level. They should focus on flood preparations to make sure our resources and efforts are in place to prepare for any eventualities.
“It is not that we will not dissolve the state assemblies. It will happen in a few months’ time. Of course, I acknowledge that there will be some confusion, but we have to explain it to the people,” he said.
Prior to the announcement of Parliament dissolution by caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri on October 10, the PH presidential council had said it would hold off dissolving the state legislative assemblies of the three PH-led states, namely Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan.
However, DAP said its Penang chapter had differing opinions on the matter and might decide against delaying the dissolution of its state legislative assembly.
This prompted the three PH states to hold further discussions on the matter.
While no firm decision has yet been made at the time of writing, in Penang, there are concerns on the ground of voter fatigue if people are required to vote in two separate elections, especially if they do not reside in the state.
“Sometimes, voter fatigue is not because of too many elections. But whether politicians and people who are in power can inspire that politics can bring about change that improves lives.
“I don’t believe that fatigue is because of too many elections. In the past, especially after the 2008 general election, we had many by-elections, and each time there was a by-election, people were very excited,” said Loke.
He added that some see every by-election as an opportunity to make their voice heard.
“To say that there are too many elections and voters will get fatigued, I do not subscribe to that notion,” he said.
Loke stressed that it was more a case of apathy because people had lost hope in politicians.
“Why we entered politics is to ensure that we can do something for the country.
“But over the past few years, that has been overshadowed by power grabs, people who are power crazy who can do anything to reach the top.
“These kinds of things have created a very bad image for politicians,” he said.
He also said that voter enthusiasm could return between now and next year, when the state elections are slated to take place.
“It is a matter of whether you are interested. If people are not interested, no matter how, they won’t vote,” he added.
When asked for his response to those who say that it would be more advantageous to the incumbent if the Penang state election were held at the same time as parliamentary polls, Loke said these were merely assumptions.
“There are arguments that if we don’t do it now, it will give them (Barisan Nasional) room to move in.
“We have been there for how many years, 13 years, and every election they try to come in.
“But are we that vulnerable that if they make some move in a few months, we will be thrown out?” Loke said.
