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Kit Siang: Who dares say Selangor will not fall?

By Teoh El Sen http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com

PETALING JAYA: DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang today warned that Pakatan Rakyat might lose Selangor if its leaders were too proud to take note of that possibility.

"We should not only take heed of the warning that 'pride comes before a fall' but also learn from history, " he said in his opening speech at the 16th DAP Selangor Convention at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre here.

Lim said PAS never expected to win Terengganu in 1999 but took the state with a landslide 28-4 victory in the state assembly. However, in 2004, PAS lost in a reverse 4-28 sweep by Umno and Barisan Nasional when they did not expect to.

"Can what happened in Terengganu happen in Selangor: capturing power although never expecting to win before the 2008 general election, and losing the state in the next general election although never expecting to lose?

"Who is brave enough to say it won't happen?" asked Lim, adding that he knew of people who believed that Pakatan cannot lose Selangor.

"Is the Pakatan government in Selangor impregnable and invincible? This is food for thought for all of you. We must take full note of this possibility," he said.

United we stand, divided we fall

Lim said this was why the Selangor DAP state convention was important for Pakatan to ensure that Selangor in the next general elections would not be a repeat of Terengganu in 2004.

He said it was a "fatal political assumption" for Pakatan to believe that it was on an unstoppable march to Putrajaya with invincible control over its present state governments, particularly Kedah and Selangor.

“I know that I have caused some to be upset with my 'two fatal political assumptions' statement, but I prefer to be proven wrong in the next general electionrather than be proven right,” he added.

Lim said the DAP Selangor state convention could help end the crisis of confidence in Pakatan.

He said the convention must send a clear and unmistakable message of single-minded unity of purpose. This would be marred if key DAP leaders in the Pakatan Selangor state government do not receive the full mandate and support from the convention.

"There is a place and role in DAP for every leader and member to contribute to the historic political changes awaiting the country. For DAP, just as for Pakatan, united we stand, divided we fall," he said.

Party is not for personal benefit

Meanwhile, DAP Selangor chairman Ean Yong Hian Wah in his opening speech said that he regretted that some were saying that a reshuffle of the current elected representatives was needed.

"That is very regretable, as that will break us as a team. Do you want to destroy yourself in this process? The party is not used for personal benefit, it is a party for the public and nation,” he said.

As at press time, 812 out of 1,016 delegates had arrived to vote for the 15 state committee posts.

It was earlier announced that seven of the 50 candidates had withdrawn from the contest. They are: Gan Eu Eng, Gan Siah Tong, Lee Sek Wun, Ong Kian Chye, R Rajiv, S Selvadurai, Sow Kim Tar @ Sow Kim Ling.