Triple polls designed to frustrate PKR, say leaders

The by-election dates for Batang Ai, Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau were designed to make it more difficult for Pakatan Rakyat, leaders of the pact’s parties claimed.
However, they said they would not let this stop them from winning in all three constituencies.
PKR strategy director Saifuddin Nasution said the party has a clear plan of action for the three by-elections. although all were scheduled for the same time.
The party, he added, would have three different teams to oversee the by-elections, which would be headed by senior party leaders.
“We are mentally prepared. We are not only ready to face the three by-elections at the same time but another general election.”
Saifuddin said the decision was also unfair to PKR and the rest of the Pakatan Rakyat members, saying the date was “tailored to Umno’s interests.”
“No matter how much the commission tries to explain the reason for this decision, the public perceives it as biased,” he said.
PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told television reporters in Parliament that Pakatan’s resources would be stretched with three by-elections being held at the same time.
“But we will field candidates and give a strong challenge,” he said.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the Election Commission was going all the way to help Barisan Nasional.
“By fixing the nomination day on the same date for all the three by-elections, it would just make it more difficult for Pakatan to win,” he told reporters after opening the Penang Career Assistance and Training Centre in George Town yesterday.
DAP vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran (DAP — Ipoh Barat) said having the three by-elections together would not be fair to voters. “The opposition is stretched in terms of resources and speakers,” he said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaffar also said having the Batang Ai by-election together with two others was an attempt to stretch Pakatan’s resources.
“It is difficult for us to organise the campaigns effectively. But we will overcome this,” he said.