The lineup will be announced after Hari Raya, say party leaders.
SEREMBAN: Negeri Sembilan Pakatan Rakyat is in the final stages of negotiations over the distribution of seats for its component parties to contest in the coming general election.
The state leaders of PAS, DAP and PKR said in a joint statement released on the weekend that Pakatan would be able to make a public announcement about the seat allocations after the Hari Raya celebrations.
The three—Mohd Taufek Abdul Ghani of PAS, Anthony Loke Siew Fook of DAP and Kamarul Baharin Abbas of PKR—also announced that Negeri Sembilan Pakatan was drafting a common manifesto in preparation for the election.
“For the first time, we in Negeri Sembilan will come up with a common manifesto,” the statement said.
“It will be in line with the Pakatan national manifesto but will emphasise the welfare of Negeri Sembilan.”
The statement came after a state Pakatan council meeting at the PAS office in Seremban.
It said a few issues in the distribution of seats remained to be sorted out, but it added that the three leaders were confident these would be resolved this week.
Insiders told FMT that PAS had backed off from demanding the Ampangan seat, currently held by PKR’s Rashid Latiff.
They also said DAP was interested in contesting in Rantau, but PKR was resisting. The seat is held by Menteri Besar Mohamad Hassan, from Umno.
In the last election, DAP contested for 11 seats, losing only in Chennah. Pundits told FMT it was unlikely that the seat will change hands in the coming election.
They said the locals, mostly elderly Chinese and Malays, gave the thumbs up for the service of the current assemblyman, MCA’s Siow Chen Pin.
Insiders also said that PKR had relented to PAS over the Serting seat. It will be contested by Jempol PAS chief Abdul Rahman Ramli, now that his PKR counterpart Karip Mohd Salleh has backed off.
Both Karip and Abdul Rahman are settlers at Felda Serting and they worked hand in hand in a recent series of court actions against the Felda management.
An insider said PKR would let PAS contest the Gemas and Sri Menanti seats again but was not willing to let Labu go to PAS.
It was learnt that PAS was ready to surrender both Gemas and Sri Menanti in exchange for Labu, but PKR would not take up the offer because Gemas and Sri Menanti are among BN’s strongest fortresses.
Gemas, where there is an army camp, has thousands of postal voters. Sri Menanti voters are mostly elderly people and have traditionally supported BN.
PAS is also interested in Linggi, but PKR is resisting.
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