Opposition politicians, analysts, welcome Saifuddin's call for a post GE meeting

Two Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politicians today welcomed the call by Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah to have a post general election meeting between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PR.

Saifuddin, the former Temerloh MP, recently suggested BN and PR to hold a meeting to discuss key issues that concern both parties’ common ground.

However, PKR lawmaker, Tian Chua said the meeting should be initiated by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The Batu MP also raised doubts about the two having any ‘common ground’ after the Najib had recently talked about the ‘Chinese tsunami’ after a large number of Chinese voters had swung to DAP.

“But what is ‘common ground’ if Najib talks about Chinese tsunami?” he told Astro Awani.

Nevertheless, Tian said Najib should first show that he is sincere on talking about common grounds before holding any meetings or discussions.

For Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) secretary-general, Al Jafree Yusop, he said there is no harm in having a discussion as there are a lot of grounds for both parties to cover.

“Having a discussion could be the first step to cover these grounds,” he said.

When asked about what grounds that need to be addressed the most, Jafree said both parties should address about the election results and allegations of election fraud.

“Because if this goes on (unsettled), I’m afraid it will get into something more serious,” he added.

Meanwhile, constitutional law expert, Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi supported Saifuddin’s call.

Speaking to Astro Awani, he said political parties should put everything behind, set their differences aside and get on the task of building bridges between the two.

“(This meeting) feeds the purpose. They must look into what they fell short,” said Dr Shad.

He also praised Saifuddin, describing him as a ‘voice of moderation’ within Umno who links up well with the youths.

Recently, Saifuddin said it would be good if both sides, BN and PR discuss and find a solution to any unsettled problems.

He said failure in doing so may cause unbalanced voters in the next 14th General Election.

Yesterday, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang praised Saifuddin’s charisma for taking his loss professionally.

Lim said Saifuddin did not blame anyone for his defeat and this example should be followed by other leaders in BN.