Opposition still bickering over seats in many places
NO AGREEMENT: It shows they are not capable of running the country, says UUM don
(NST) – EVEN as it draws near to nomination day, the loose opposition coalition comprising PKR, DAP and Pas still cannot resolve the seat allocation issue and this may force them to contest against each other.
Universiti Utara Malaysia political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Mustafa Ishak opines that this reflects badly on Pakatan Rakyat as it was considered “old hand” when it comes to elections.
“They claim they can govern the nation. How can they do that if they cannot even resolve the most basic thing in a general election?” he said.
Barisan Nasional, on the other hand, has achieved a consensus in terms of the allocation of seats despite having 13 component parties.
“This is the real problem Pakatan is facing — the possibility of three-cornered or multi-cornered fights among them underscores that there is no better formula than the one practised by BN.”
He added that BN leaders did not squabble openly and the swapping of seats among them was for strategic purposes, so only one component party could represent BN in a particular seat.
“But in the case of Pakatan, every single party wants to gain maximum benefit and the maximum number of seats to determine who can lead the coalition post-general election,” Mustafa explained.
Since the opposition did not have a clear agreement or arrangement on who should lead the coalition, Mustafa said this had prompted it to make a decision based on the number of seats each party was contesting.
“If PKR wins more seats, it will head the coalition.
“If DAP wins more, it will call the shots. Same goes to Pas,” he added.
Pakatan is embroiled in seat allocation disputes in several states.
In Perlis, animosity is brewing between PKR and DAP over the Indera Kayangan state seat, where both have refused to budge on who should be contesting.
In Penang, the opposition is facing a similar problem with the Sungai Aceh state seat where PKR and Pas had both announced their respective candidates.
Meanwhile in Johor, the squabbling on seat allocation is still not over, with both PKR and DAP adamant on contesting the Johor Jaya state seat.
DAP had gone ahead and announced its candidate and this had angered many state PKR leaders also vying for the seat.
Apart from Johor Jaya, two other state seats — Pengkalan Rinting and Tangkak — are also being eyed by both parties.
There is also a tussle for seats in Sarawak with DAP staking a claim to predominantly Dayak areas — Mambong and Sri Aman — which PKR had also expressed its intention to contest.
Problems may also arise between PKR and DAP as the latter also wants to contest in Mas Gading, Bintulu and Kapit.
To complicate matters, Pas has also joined in the fray by naming candidates to contest in Kota Samarahan and Julau.
DAP has also reportedly refused to budge in the Chinese-majority seats of Stampin and Miri.
Trouble is also brewing over seat allocation involving opposition-friendly Parti Sosialis Malaysia, which is adamant in contesting under its own banner this time around in seats that PKR had claimed.
(PSM could not contest using its own logo in previous elections as the party was not registered then.)
In a statement, its secretary-general S. Arutchelvan said PKR could not claim rights to the Semenyih and Kota Damansara state seats, and Sungai Siput parliamentary seat as no PKR members had ever stood there in previous elections.
