Opposition ready to face GE15 despite flood concerns

Opposition parties have said they will immediately activate their election machinery to prepare for the 15th general election (GE15) although almost every one expressed concern about the risk of floods due to the northeast monsoon season.

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the party respected the dissolution of Parliament which was done in accordance with the Federal Constitution although DAP did not welcome the holding of GE15 during the monsoon season, which would lead to the risk of floods.

Loke said the DAP central executive committee would convene an emergency meeting today to discuss preparations for the coming election.

"DAP will continue to support the decision made by the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council not to dissolve the state assemblies in Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. The decision was made to enable the states to focus on prepations to face the possibility of floods," he said in a statement.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in announcing the dissolution of Parliament, claimed it was done to put a stop to the voices questioning the legitimacy of the "backdoor government" and "parachute candidates".
 
The prime minister said through the dissolution of Parliament, the mandate to elect a strong, stable and respectable government would be handed back to the people.

He also advised the heads of state governments to seek the consent of the rulers and governors to dissolve their respective state assemblies so that state elections could be held at the same time as GE15.

The five-year mandate of the current government will expire in July 2023. According to Article 55 (4) of the Federal Constitution, GE15 must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of Parliament.

PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli in a Twitter post said the party would do its best and that the time had come to switch into high gear to prepare for GE15 although the party had already started campaigning on a moderate scale in recent months.

"Like I have always said, winning and losing is decided by God. What is important is that we must work hard to ensure the country is back on the right track and continues to progress," he said.
 
Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman meanwhile expressed disappointment over the rationale and timing of GE15, especially with the prospect of floods looming and the possibility of having to campaign during floods.

"Thousands of people in the country are continuosly affected by floods. In the past 10 days, many places have been affected by floods," he said in a Facebook post.

Pejuang deputy president Marzuki Yahya said Pejuang had planned to contest under the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) banner, but since GTA’s application has not been approved by the Registrar of Societies, it would need to look at other options.

"We (Pejuang) are all under GTA, our candidates will all be GTA candidates. Now I think maybe these one or two days we want to decide because GTA has not been approved yet, so we will go for the second option," Marzuki, who is the GTA chief secretary, said when contacted.

He added that although the party had not expected the dissolution of Parliament, it would start preparing for GE15.

GTA is a coalition set up on Aug 4, comprising Pejuang, Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman), Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra). Gagasan Bangsa Malaysia has also offered to work with GTA.