Sarawak DAP reminds Anwar seat talks ended in January

Seat negotiations for the upcoming Sarawak state election among the Pakatan Harapan allies concluded in January, according to state DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen.

He said this in response to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim who said two days ago that talks were ongoing to address the overlapping contest for seats between DAP and PKR, while Harapan would negotiate seat allocations with opposition parties, including Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).

At a press conference today, Chong (above) said PKR, which initially agreed to contest 47 out of 82 state seats, now demands to contest up to 50 seats.

"As far as I am concerned, seat negotiations among Harapan (parties) have been concluded and agreement reached on Jan 2," he said.

The agreement was agreed to by the then Sarawak PKR chief Larry Sng, Sarawak Amanah chief Abang Halil Abang Naili and Chong himself.

"Even after Sng quit the party, the agreement still exists and is a binding (contract).

"Under the agreement, PKR would stand in 47 seats, but now it wants more - 48, 49, or even 50 seats."

As for cooperation with other opposition parties, Chong said all Harapan parties may have to give away seats in which they themselves are expected to contest.

He said Harapan must also first determine if PSB was a genuine opposition party instead of a party that may switch its support to the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

As such, he said, Harapan needs to observe the scenario when it comes to forging cooperation with other parties.

Chong, however, did not rule out the possibility of working with PSB and other opposition parties in the state election.

The Sarawak Legislative Assembly was dissolved on Nov 3 after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong consented to lift the statewide emergency on the same day, paving the way for the state polls to be held within 60 days. - Mkini