In a statement today, he invited PAS, a former Pakatan Rakyat partner, to rejoin its former allies, the DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat, to face the next general election as a team.
He said PAS and its splinter group Amanah (Parti Amanah Negara) “should continue to advance with PKR and DAP. We should move forward together to face PRU-14 as a team”.
Azmin, who is PKR deputy president, said the results of the Sarawak state assembly elections yesterday had shown that the people rejected the squabbling among the opposition parties.
The DAP and PKR squabbled for weeks over which seats each would contest, leading to multi-cornered contests at which their candidates faced off against each other.
In his statement today, Azmin said all opposition parties must carry out self-reflection about the opposition’s trouncing at the Sarawak elections.
The Barisan Nasional retained power with 72 seats in the 82-member state assembly. The DAP was returned in seven seats but lost five that it had previously won. PKR retained its three seats.
“Maybe, our achievement could have been much better if from early on we were one at heart and co-operated like we normally did,” Azmin said, according to Bernama.
At the 2008 general election, Pakatan Rakyat, comprising the DAP, PAS and PKR, made major gains against the Barisan Nasional and held power in the state governments of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor. The Perak government later fell because of defections. In 2013, Pakatan lost power in Kedah but alliance partners continued to hold power in Kelantan, Penang and Selangor.
However the Pakatan Rakyat alliance fell apart in 2015 because of differences between the DAP and PAS, and pro-Pakatan members left PAS to form Amanah which then joined the DAP and PKR to form Pakatan Harapan. PAS is excluded but maintains relations with the Selangor state government which is headed by Azmin.
He said: “We should accept that our alliances will continue to differ in opinions over certain issues in the future but confidence prompted by the spirit of solidarity all this while will help us overcome this difference,” he said.
ELECTION RESULTS
Rise above narrow party interests, says Wan Azizah