Selangor offers Sarawak Pakatan help

DAP and PKR who are both aiming to contest seats in Sarawak are not worried about overlapping activities.

KUCHING: Selangor has pledged to channel its resources, including manpower, to help Sarawak in the coming general election as it is one of the important states that can ensure the Pakatan Rakyat ‘march’ to Putrajaya is successful.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, who was here on a visit together with de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, said people were begining to accept Pakatan.

“As the people are now beginning to understand our policies and our struggle, the Pakatan Rakyat will mount a very serious challenge against the Barisan Nasional government.

“It is possible for us to go to Putrajaya with strong support coming from Johor, Sarawak, Sabah and other states.

“Sarawak is important to us. This is why we have to send our manpower and resources to Sarawak,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Khalid and Anwar were in Kuching for a meeting with state PKR leaders.

Khalid called on Sarawak PKR leaders, members and supporters to work hard and to go to the ground and mix with the people.

“You must explain our policies, our struggle and our pledge to the people.

“The more they understand our struggle, the brighter the chance for us to win over their hearts and minds,” he said.

Not easy

He admitted, however, that it is not easy to organise things in the state especially if it has to do with Anwar.

“Many people are scared of political backlash or that they are being threatened if they show open support for us.

“Let me remind Sarawak leaders that if they continue to do this, we from Selangor can also do the same that is, banning them from entering the state or refusing them from using our facilities.

“But Selangor will not do it. They can use our halls and other facilities because these facilities are built using people’s money.

“However, they must follow rules and regulations.

“Tell Sarawak leaders not to be arrogant and give the people the opportunity to choose between BN and Pakatan.

“I feel sad that Sarawak is so rich with natural resources, but the people have no chance to enjoy those benefits.

“That is why I dare to say that we will work together with the people to plan a better future for the people of the state,” he said.

Later in the afternoon Khalid left for Miri to meet with party leaders and members, while Anwar met with members of the state leadership council.

Later Anwar left for a Bidayuh village in the Mambong constituency, which is one of the 15 seats that PKR has expressed its interest to contest.

Seat allocations

Meanwhile, See Chee How, vice-chairman of Sarawak PKR, said that a formal meeting with DAP and PAS will be held in Kuching this month on seat allocation.

He said that the three component parties of Pakatan Rakyat had several informal discussions on the seat allocation, but he could not give details.

“The first stage is for all the three parties to list out all the desired seats. Then we know which seats are overlapping and which are not.

“And judging from our ground activities, one can guess which are the seats that are overlapping,” he said.

He added that even if both DAP and PKR were involved in the same constituency, it will not become an issue since ground activity is vital for Pakatan to win the seat.

Most of the 15 seats that PKR is targeting are rural or semi-urban constituencies. DAP on the other hand has expressed its interest to contest between 10 and 12 seats, six of which are Chinese majority constituencies.

PAS has not revealed the number of seats it wants to contest. Sarawak has 31 parliamentary seats.
Of these, two – Bandar Kuching and Sibu – are held by DAP.