Anwar says PKR will settle for only 7 seats

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim says the party will abide by the Warisan Plus decision. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: PKR has concurred with and will abide by the decision made by Sabah’s dominant coalition Warisan Plus for the party to contest only seven seats in the Sabah state assembly elections, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim said.

“We call on all our members in Sabah and other states to accept the decision, no matter how hard,” he said in an interview with Bernama today.

Warisan Plus is an alliance of Warisan, PKR, DAP, Amanah, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko).

Anwar said he wanted all the seven PKR candidates to be the voices of the majority of the Sabah people.

“The party (PKR) has a great future and potential. Despite the uneasiness and disappointment felt at the grassroots when the decision on the seat allocation did not turn out the way we wanted it to be, we will abide by it so as to demonstrate understanding of unity,” he said.

On PKR’s chances to win and retain the seats in Sabah, Anwar said the party’s responsibility was not only to ensure victory in the seven seats, but also to ensure victory in all seats contested by its allies in Warisan Plus.

He said he had convened discussions with all PKR MPs and state leaders in Sarawak and in the peninsula to assist the party’s election machinery in Sabah.

“Yes (we can win) … we will try our level best to win,” he said.

On the candidates, Anwar said they will comprise those with integrity and those qualified and capable of winning the hearts of the people, not those who are easily “bought” or without principles.

Prior to this, Sabah PKR information chief Simsudin Sidek had announced that the party would contest 14 seats in the state elections on Sept 26.

However, Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal yesterday announced that PKR would be allocated only seven seats: namely Api-Api, to be contested by state PKR chief Christina Liew Chin Jin; Inanam (Peto Galim); Tempasuk (Mustapha Sakmud); Tamparuli (Alijus Sipli); Matunggong (Sazalye Donol Abdullah); Klias (Abdul Rahman Md Yakub); and Sook (Raymond Ahuar).

Klias and Sook are new seats allocated to PKR, while the other five are those contested by the party in the 2018 general election. - FMT