Kit Siang steps up pressure on PKR to comply

PETALING JAYA: Lim Kit Siang has made a “final appeal” for a united front of opposition parties against the Barisan Nasional in the Sarawak elections, as the DAP stepped up the war of words against Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

Speaking at a ceramah in Miri yesterday, the DAP supremo stepped up the pressure on PKR to comply with an electoral understanding reached by national party leaders for one-to-one contests against BN.

Sarawak PKR leader Baru Bian has complained about national leaders over-riding the local party’s plans for the Sarawak elections. Baru has stated that PKR would co-operate with former Pakatan Rakyat partner PAS, which has become bitter foes of the DAP since the DAP announced its opposition to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in 2014.

Baru has also announced that PKR would contest in 40 of the 82 state assembly seats but has only named candidates to 35 of the 40 seats while negotiations continue about avoiding contests against the DAP or the Amanah party, its partners in the Pakatan Harapan alliance.

The DAP has announced all its 29 candidates.

Baru, who will seek re-election in Ba’ Kelalan, is expected to announce the final five names tomorrow, nomination day.

Kit Siang, in his short speech yesterday, claimed that the Sarawak elections were not just a battle for Sarawak but a battle for Malaysia.

“It is most unfortunate if this electoral understanding are broken resulting in a multi-cornered electoral contest involving the BN on the one part, and the DAP and PKR on the other”.

Pakatan Harapan parties should face the elections as one team, he said, in what was clearly a message to local PKR leaders to back down from their claims to contest in several seats. The DAP has aggressively named all their candidates in order to force PKR to comply.

However, Baru’s decision to hold back five names has left the DAP on edge. On Friday, Baru said “there are bound to be overlapping seats, this is normal in politics”. He also gave a reminder that PKR deputy president Azmin Ali had given him the mandate to decide on candidates. Baru said: “Leave it to PKR, which has been given the mandate to negotiate over this matter.”

Kit Siang said yesterday that the parties should be prepared to help campaign for each other to send out a message of Pakatan Harapan’s solidarity.

However, with just two days before nomination day, Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen has aggressively tried to mark out a leadership role for by demanding that PKR and its deputy president Azmin Ali “should be gentlemen and stick to the agreement reached by both parties”.

In a snide attack on Azmin and Baru he said “if a leader cannot keep to his word, then he is not fit to be one”.

Azmin and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng were reported to have reached an agreement on the electoral pact last week, but Baru had complained that the agreement had placed local PKR plans in jeopardy, after which Azmin said Sarawak PKR would have the final decision.

Chong’s uncompromising tones appeared to be an attempt to become the lynchpin of Pakatan Harapan. He said yesterday: “There’s no point negotiating further. If they want to talk, they can talk to me”.

Mukah Pages bring you trending news media with Free Malaysia Today http://ift.tt/1Sl4MEg

No comments

Comments are welcome and encouraged on this site. Comments deemed to be spam or solely promotional will be deleted. Including link to relevant content is permitted, but comments should be relevant to the post topic.

Comments including profanity and containing language that could deemed offensive will also deleted. Please respectful toward other contributors. Thank you.