PKR to contest 40 seats in S’wak, eyeing Batu Kitang

PKR is expected to fight for the Batu Kitang seat despite reports of DAP wanting it too

(Free Malaysia Today) – PKR will contest some 40 seats in Sarawak in the coming state elections, which it has traditionally been contesting since 2000, said PKR vice-president Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

According to Borneo Post Online, Jayakumar said the party had also identified 15 seats including Batu Kitang, which to the party, were non-negotiable.

He said PKR would fight for the seats and hoped there would be no clash between them and others in Pakatan Harapan as each had already signed an agreement to prevent any occurrence of three-cornered fights.

“We signed the agreement, and in it, agreed to do our best to fight one-on-one. I don’t see why there should be any overlapping of seats, and we will hold firm to the agreement,” he was quoted as saying after a PKR Chinese New Year open house in Kuching.

Jayakumar said PKR had opened operation centres in Kuching, Miri and Sibu and its teams there were already working on logistics, electoral rolls and other election-related matters.

Sarawak PKR and DAP have recently been embroiled in a public spat over seats, with the DAP reportedly looking to contest more seats than it did in the last election.

It has also been reported that DAP was eyeing the Batu Kitang seat and that their potential candidate for it was Abdul Aziz Isa, the great-grandson of former Sarawak governor Rahman Ya’kub.

On a separate issue, Xavier called on Chief Minister Adenan Satem to lift the ban on Opposition leaders from entering the state so a “fair election” could take place.

He said this was not a challenge to Sarawak’s autonomy but solely to allow a fair campaign for the Opposition in Sarawak.