Pakatan could face supporters in next GE

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — 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.

Some PR leaders have described the move to contest as independents in the next general election as the “third force” that would only benefit BN and reduce PR’s share of votes.

“The current system encourages politics of patronage. If you are the division chief, with all else being equal, you will be selected as the candidate,” said Haris.

“You look at the three parties and look at the list of national and state leaders. Can you find 222 names you can rely on?” he asked.

Haris however stressed that Zaid, a former member of the PKR political bureau, had nothing to do with the initiative.

“This has nothing to do with Zaid,” said Haris, who appeared to be supporting Zaid’s aborted campaign for PKR’s deputy presidency in his blog postings.

Haris said his group has recruited 16 individuals who are willing to offer themselves in the next election and planned to have enough candidates to contest in about 30 parliamentary constituencies by early next year.

He added that the potential candidates have undergone a stringent selection process to prevent cases of defections after the election.

“We want people with integrity. People with no heavy financial exposure and gambling habit,” said Haris.

PR had lost five MPs since March 2008. Four of them — Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim (Bayan Baru), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal), Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai) and Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju) — quit, citing a loss of confidence in Anwar’s leadership. Zulkifli Noordin (Kulim-Bandar Baru) was sacked following disagreement with the PRK leadership over the “Allah” row.

Speculation is rife that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will call for a general election by the first half of next year and that the current parliamentary sitting may possibly be the last for the current administration.

However, the current government’s mandate only expires in May 2013. - Malaysian Insider