Pakatan could face supporters in next GE

(TMI) Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders aspiring to stand in the next general election are expected to face stiff competition from a group planning to contest as independent candidates.

The initiative by the group dubbed the “Third Force” could also lead to multi-cornered fights in up to 30 of the 222 parliamentary seats which are being held or will be contested by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR. However, the group said it is not linked to maverick politician Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who is due to walk out of PKR tomorrow.

In Election 2008, more than 90 per cent of the federal seats saw a straight fight between PR parties and Barisan Nasional (BN).

Group co-ordinator Haris Ibrahim (picture) however said his objective is to offer strong candidates who would not switch allegiance in case PR forms the next federal government.

“Our aim is to have a buffer of about maybe 20 MPs to defend the government in case Pakatan takes over the government,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

The lawyer and active blogger, who has been working with civil society groups for the initiative, also stressed that the pool of candidates would first be offered to the federal opposition.

He also gave another reason for offering candidates rather than letting PKR make its own choice.

“We don’t want to see another Perak happening in Putrajaya,” said Haris, referring to the Perak constitutional crisis last year which saw the fall of the PR state government after three of its assemblymen became BN-friendly lawmakers.

His group of activists and bloggers have been campaigning against BN since before Election 2008, which saw the ruling coalition losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time and losing control of four states.

They were also behind a manifesto called the People’s Declaration that was endorsed by all PR parties ahead of the 12th general election.

The group was also influential in mobilising urban voters to back PR candidates in 2008.

Haris said negotiations with “non-BN parties” would start in January next year.

“We hope to reach a consensus by mid-January with non-BN parties,” he said.

He added that the candidates would only contest as independents if PR parties could not offer better candidates.

“Political process does not belong to political party,” said Haris it was pointed out to him about the arrangement for a straight fight between PR and BN.

He stressed that his group was merely offering a better candidate selection system to the opposition parties.

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pakatan-could-face-supporters-in-next-ge/