Arrived in Labuan this morning to be greeted by this report in the Daily Express.
In my “Please PAS & PKR, can we ABUkan Labuan?” post earlier this March, I had written :
“I’m told by the locals, including some of the Muslims, that the lifestyle of the majority in Labuan simply does not favour a PAS candidate.
Notice how in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur in the 12th GE, of the 11 parliamentary seats there, PAS only contested and won in only 1 seat, that is, Titiwangsa?
Might this have anything to do, however slight, with the lifestyle of a large number of KLites, including those who profess Islam as their faith who, then, at least, might have been more ready to dump BN if the alternative was a non-PAS candidate?
The locals I spoke to in Labuan feel that given local sentiment, a non-PAS Malay candidate has a better chance of displacing UMNO / BN come the next elections.
Specifically, they have stated a preference for a Malay candidate from PKR.
The DAP, PKR and SAPP members and leaders I spoke to share this view, with one proviso.
PKR in Labuan, they tell me, is split into 2 factions.
Unless the PKR top leadership can get the 2 factions to settle their differences, picking a PKR candidate from either faction, assuming PAS makes way, risks internal sabotage from the other faction”.
The good news is that the 2 factions have agreed, in the true spirit of ABU, to work together to ensure UMNO is displaced in Labuan.
That’s half the battle won already.
The better news that I hear through the grapevine is that PKR has been able to identify a good candidate, one that also has met the approval of the PAS leadership in Kuala Lumpur.
What needs to happen now is for PAS HQ to come to their ABU senses and communicate to PAS Labuan that PKR is going to contest in Labuan come the 13th GE.
The Daily Express credits to Anwar a statement that PAS will be contesting in Labuan.
This statement was allegedly made on 10th June, this year, when the plane he was on, enroute to Kota Kinabalu, had to make a stop at Labuan due to poor weather.
DAP, PKR and PAS leaders from Labuan were on hand to greet and keep Anwar company whilst he waited for the flight to resume to KK.
These leaders, PAS excluded, tell me that Anwar said no such thing.
PKR, at national level, I am told, is ready to take on UMNO in Labuan.
The local leadership of PKR, DAP and SAPP, are ready.
STAR, from Sabah, has told me that they are ready to back a good PKR candidate.
I am told that candidate has already been hand-picked.
ABU is ready.
PAS?
Anwar with the local Labuan Pakatan leaders at the airport on 10th June. On the far left is Labuan DAP chief Lau Seng Kiat, who contested as an independent in the 12th GE and garnered more votes than the PAS candidate, who lost his deposit
Anwar with Labuan PKR Information Chief, Ahmad Lampai
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