Pakatan eyes March end to seat negotiations, while BN struggles to agree on "winnable" list

Pakatan Rakyat is targeting to wrap up up seat negotiations by the end of next month, which if it succeeds in doing will put it ahead of Prime Minister Najib Razak's BN coalition which is still squabbling over who should be on the "winnable" list of candidates.

Pundits point to Selangor, which Najib's Umno party has made a big show of gunning after, but to-date is still unable to identify a leader or chief minister for the state.

"It is not just in Selangor, but the latest is who will be the Mentri Besar of Johor and will Zambry be retained in Perak? What about Terengganu and Negri Sembilan? The infighting there is well know and getting more intense by the day," PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.

Nonetheless, within the Pakatan trio of PAS, DAP and PKR, the negotiations have been just as heated. Even so, according to DAP's Anthony Loke, a March deadline has been set for negotiations to be finalized.

“Generally, we want to wrap it up by end of March. DAP proposed it (during the meeting). We want to settle this as soon as possible.  It would be good to wrap it up as elections might take place after the next Parliament sitting,” the DAP Youth chief and Rasah MP was reported as telling The Malaysian Insider.

Infighting in Umno may overshadow GE-13

Indeed, Parliament will reconvene next month. There is speculation that it may be the last session, with Najib due to call for snap polls in May or June. However, many believe that it could be later than that, in November or even early 2013, given the still heightened infighting within Umno, which is also gearing up for its own party polls later this year.

"This is the one that people are watching closely too. It is not impossible for GE-13 to be held after the Umno polls. What we see is a lot of shifting among the factions and this will worsen because (former premier) Mahathir Mohamad and Najib are still unable to agree on a succession plan. Outwardly, they take care to show that they support each other. If they didn't, the other factions will come scrambling in and it will be full-scale civil war then," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronic.e

In the 2008 general election, Pakatan won 54% of the popular vote, control of 5 states out of 13 and the Federal Territories. Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is rated to have an even chance of leading Pakatan to a historic win in GE-13, even though the BN has never lost since independence from British rule in 1957.

A slew of factors including voter disgust at the Umno-BN's refusal to recognize democratic rights, unceasing corruption, a sinking economy and rising consumer prices have been rated as the reasons for a landmark change in Malaysian political history.

Malaysia Chronicle