Kedah Pakatan deadlocked in seats talks
The uncompromising attitude of the top guns forces opposition supremo Anwar Ibrahim to announce that the national leadership council would now deliberate on the allocation of seats.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Things are looking bleak for Kedah Pakatan Rakyat after discussions on the 36 seats allocation among its three partners for the next general election reached a deadlock.
Rocked by the ill-health of Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak, which led to speculations of a stand-in leader, the alliance is now treading on thin ice because of uncompromising leaders.
Although the power of incumbency would likely give Pakatan an advantage over Barisan Nasional if the PAS-led state government agrees to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly and call for a state election, several Kedah leaders, it seems, are not on the same page.
Even the presence of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday failed to dissuade state Pakatan leaders to strike a compromise.
An insider privy to the discussions said: “We have yet to touch on the sensitive aspects of who would be our candidates and we are stuck about which party should contest where.
“We must move away from these protracted disagreements since an election is looming,” the insider added, who preferred to remain anonymous.
He also said that Anwar was visibly upset when he was informed about the lack of progress in the state-level discussions.
“Kedah Pakatan must get its act together as there are many cliques around Azizan who is seen to be more of a polarising figure rather than an accommodative one,” said the insider.
Anwar, who later held a press conference, said that Pakatan’s national leadership council would now deliberate seats allocation in Kedah since its leaders cannot reach an outcome.
It is learnt that the main contentious issue is the demand by DAP for more seats while PAS is unwilling to sacrifice some of its seats to PKR as it regards itself as the dominant party here.
“Both parties (PKR and DAP) gave their reasons for wanting the seats,” Anwar said, before his surprising announcement that the final decision on seats allocation would only be formally announced once the general election is called for.
DAP pushing for more seats
Among the several contentious issues in the state is the question of whether PAS would endorse Azizan as the man to lead Pakatan since there are concerns about his failing health.
There is also the trust factor among the three parties after four PKR leaders defected and also consolidating its territories in Kedah’s southern part (Kulim and Sungai Petani), where there is resentment towards Pakatan due to a lack of macro-economic activities there.
There is also the lack of a two-thirds majority in Kedah, as out of the 36 state seats here, Pakatan only has 20, BN 14 and there are two Independents in Lunas and Bakar Arang state seats respectively.
