Umno eyes state seat in Permatang Pauh, PKR cites status quo

Umno's reported bid to contest a state seat in Permatang Pauh may have hit an early snag after indications that Pakatan Harapan as its new unity government partner will not give up seats it already won.

Online portal Free Malaysia Today quoted Penanti assemblyperson Dr Norlela Ariffin (above) as saying that all state seats won by Harapan will be retained by the coalition.

"PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has announced that all the state seats we won in the last elections will remain with us," Norlela reportedly said.

The status quo for Harapan will see Umno left only with two seats it currently holds - Permatang Berangan and Sungai Dua - and three others held by Perikatan Nasional.

At the parliamentary level, PN's Fawwaz Md Jan had during the last 15th general elections broken through PKR's stronghold of Permatang Pauh and defeated party vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar.

In GE14, Harapan made a clean sweep at the parliamentary and all three state seats - Seberang Jaya, Permatang Pasir and Penanti.

Previously, Permatang Pauh Umno chief Zaidi Said said the party wanted to contest a seat in his constituency, and that Umno should not be expected to contest only the seats it held.

Meanwhile, FMT also quoted Permatang Pasir assemblyperson Faiz Fadzil who said it was ultimately up to the incumbent parties to decide whether they wanted to make way for an Umno candidate.

"If Umno’s candidate can secure victory, then the demand (for a seat) is reasonable. Plus, we could use more Malay representation in the state government," he was quoted as saying.

At the same time, Faiz also took a swipe at Umno, saying the party should not just focus on seat allocations but work harder to convince its supporters to back Harapan candidates and the unity government.

The Amanah leader claimed that in last December’s Padang Serai election, BN - in its first campaign trail with Harapan - did not do enough to mobilise its supporters to support the coalition's candidate Sofee Razak, who ultimately lost to PN’s Azman Nasrudin. - Mkini