The Polls Will Be Held Soon

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The newly-formed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia must align itself with the Opposition if it aims to win the next general election, which should be “very soon”, said Tun Musa Hitam.

He predicted that the elections will come “very soon”, before the new could get a foothold in the country.

“I think BN will call for election very soon. If it is true, then this is one of the biggest challenges for those who want to oppose the Government – to get together and become a cohesive force.

“Whether this party is going to stand alone or together with Opposition, I don’t know yet. I would have to assume that if they want to be successful, they have to be together with the Opposition,” he told reporters after the launch of his new book Frankly Speaking here yesterday.

Musa said past experiences had shown that attempts to become a cohesive force was a challenge on its own as there were bound to be arguments on seat allocation.

“They must be unanimous in their allocation of seats. Most of the time in the past, it never worked. They may allocate certain seat numbers for Party A and a certain number for Party B but each individual party will always say it is the most qualified to contest for that seat.”

He said some people saw the removal of the sitting Prime Minister as the only way to solve the problems in the country.-thestaronline

“The Bersih (rally) is coming up, you could mess it up or you could make it a success. As long as you allow people to express their views, as long as you don’t look for excuses to lock people up,” he said.

On the problems faced by the country, Musa said he was fearful about security. He said Malaysia was going downhill and could end up like the Philippines, which was almost lawless for some time.

He said there were big scandals and shootings in broad daylight.

“I think the country is moving downhill. The speed is slow, but it could develop into a fast slide.

“I was witnessing the Philippines in the past. It was going towards a failed state … I used to say, ‘My God, security, arms, in any settlement of grouses … this did not happen in our country,” he said, adding that it was now becoming “normal” in Malaysia too.