PKR vice-president R Ramanan (left) said one correct forecast by former Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming did not make the latter Nostradamus.PETALING JAYA: PKR vice-president R Ramanan has brushed aside a projection by former Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming that Pakatan Harapan (PH) will lose the Negeri Sembilan election, likening the DAP leader to a "fortune teller".Commenting on Ong's forecast that PH would win only 11 to 13 of the state's 36 seats, with PKR securing just one, Ramanan said getting one prediction right does not make someone an authority on future polls."Sometimes you go to a fortune teller and you ask for a 4D number. The fortune teller tells 1,000 people 1,000 different numbers. The one who strikes the number will say that fortune teller is the best."Just because you get one prediction right doesn’t mean you are Nostradamus," he told reporters after an event in Senawang.Ramanan was referring to the 16th-century French astrologer Nostradamus, whose book Les Prophéties contained cryptic verses that many later claimed had predicted major historical events.He also dismissed comparisons with the Johor state election, where Ong's forecast closely matched the eventual outcome, saying Negeri Sembilan is a different battleground.“We knew Johor was a difficult battleground.
And it’s not the same in Negeri Sembilan.”Ong projected yesterday that Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional were on course to jointly win between 23 and 25 seats in the Aug 1 election, enough to form the state government.He said the BN-PN electoral pact would allow both coalitions to consolidate Malay support by avoiding multi-cornered contests, while projecting PH to win between 11 and 13 seats, with PKR expected to secure only one seat.PH is contesting all 36 seats on its own in this election. BN is contesting 25 seats under its pact with the PAS-led PN, which is fielding candidates in the remaining 11 without any overlap.Bersatu, although still a PN component party, is separately fielding candidates in 24 seats under its own logo.
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