The DAP is at it again… playing the religion game to win the hearts and minds of voters with the party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng called on the government to allow Christians to use the word Allah.
The issue was resolved some three years ago and DAP raises the matter again given the volatile position the party is in at present as PAS continues with its fundamentalism stand which further distance the party with non-Malay Muslims voters.
DAP finds it hard to attract the Malay voters now as its recently concluded convention clearly reflected the party’s chauvinistic character which distance itself with the Malay voters.
Thus, to strengthen itself further with the Chinese voters especially who are Christians, the party calls on the government to allow churches to use the word Allah.
Its political relationship with PAS is fragile although they are together in the unregistered opposition alliance where they have no common ground except to topple the ruling BN.
DAP had expected PAS to net Malay voters as well as some Chinese voters who do not want DAP’s chauvinistic stand but PAS has apparently antagonized the Chinese by imposing Hudud laws on them such as in Kelantan.
DAP is damned angry with PAS but the party cannot cut-off ties because they are together in the objective – to topple BN – and between the three parties in the opposition unholy alliance, PAS is considered the strongest Malay party.
PKR, a Malay-based party but the Malays are shunning away and distancing themselves from the party as its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s character has been an issue of contention and disdain among them.
Only a handful who are blindly loyal are standing behind Anwar and these are mostly leaders at all levels, maybe around 100 of them, not members or grassroots who every political party counts as their backbone.
PKR has no such things as grassroots and whatever grassroots they claimed to have are actually PAS members and supporters who throw their support behind as instructed by PAS leaders.
So DAP cannot count on PKR to add value to its position… in fact the party is asking for more parliamentary and state seats and Anwar has said no way.
That is bad for DAP because it cannot widen or expand its influence and even in Penang, the party cannot stand alone to be the government although it has the most state seats.
Thus Guan Eng is actually fishing for votes from Christians to add to the party’s existing status as it cannot hope for help from PKR nor PAS given the situation in PKR which is not convincing at all and PAS is consider ‘enemy of the Chinese and Christians’.
DAP wants its situation to be strong before the general election is called, without having to depend on its partners in the unregistered Pakatan Rakyat (PR), this is especially so in Penang.
That is why he raises an old issue but it strikes the ‘cord of Christians’ all over the country.
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