Anwar: Not too late to fix Sarawak seat mess

(MMO) – There is still time for Sarawak PKR and DAP to negotiate and find a solution to the clashes in six seats in the state election, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.

News portal Malaysiakini quoted the former opposition leader as saying that both parties needed to discuss the matter further to ensure victory for Pakatan Harapan in the seats they are contesting for the Sarawak election.

“I regret (that this happened in Sarawak state election),” Anwar reportedly said when met at the High Court.

“For now, I want them to continue to work to ensure that Harapan wins.

“There is still time for them to try to negotiate, that will be the best,” he added when asked about the seat clashes between PKR and DAP.

At the close of nominations yesterday, PKR and DAP were seen pitted against one another in six seats, namely Mambong, Simanggang, Murum, Mulu, Ngemah and Batu Kitang.

The clashes were the result of the failure between both Pakatan Harapan allies in Sarawak to stick to a previous agreement struck by its national leaders that made sure there would be no overlapping seats among all its members during the polls.

After the agreement earlier this month, Sarawak PKR leaders expressed dissatisfaction at their allocated seats and vowed to use its veto power to stop any of the pact’s national leaders from interfering in negotiations.

Sarawak DAP had at first adhered to the agreement but at PKR’s refusal to back down from five seats that was on its contest list, the party decided to stake its claim over Batu Kitang yesterday, a seat the opposition see as “safe” due to strong support from voters for the opposition.

To deny BN its two-thirds majority, Pakatan Harapan parties would have to win at least 28 seats of the total 82 seats up for contest.

During the 2011 polls, DAP and PKR collectively bagged a total of 15 seats ― 12 won by the DAP and three by PKR.

According to the Election Commission (EC) this afternoon, 1.14 million registered voters will be casting their votes in the May 7 polls.

This includes 1.1 million regular voters, 25,022 early voters and 106 postal voters.