SELANGOR PKR is willing to give up some seats it wants to contest in the general election to partners in Pakatan Harapan, but those parties must first prove that they can win, said a state PH election committee member.

Haniza Talha said PKR had never restricted its allies from contesting seats, but their requests should be based on “winnable factors”.

“Our objective is to achieve victory. PKR is open, but they have to prove that they have the ability to win in terms of machinery, candidates, and whether the people know the party,” said Haniza, who is also state PKR Wanita chief.

She was commenting on the stalemate between PH parties in Selangor on seat negotiations, at a press conference at the PKR headquarters today.

PKR has said it wants to contest the most seats in Selangor, and party vice-president Dr Xavier Jayakumar, who heads the state election committee, had said the party had the best ability to win.

In the last election in 2013, PKR contested 21 seats and won 14. PAS also contested 21 seats, winning 15, while DAP won 15.

Seat talks between the four parties have missed the January 31 deadline, reportedly due to PKR’s lack of confidence in Amanah and Bersatu to replace former ally PAS in netting the Malay-Muslim vote.

The deadline for seat distribution has been extended to Wednesday.

Haniza said PKR’s demand for more seats was based on survey findings that the party could win.

It is also based on the party’s performance in leading the state government.

“We feel the challenge is great for parties like Amanah and Bersatu because they are new and need to introduce the party (in the places) where they want to contest, whereas people are already familiar with PKR.”

Bersatu and Amanah are newer parties that are spin-offs from Umno and PAS, respectively.

The outstanding seats under discussion were those that PKR did not win in the last election, as well as PAS seats, said Haniza.

She expressed support for state PH chairman Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is also menteri besar, saying Azmin had shown a willingness to negotiate on seat divisions, despite other parties’ attempts to claim the opposite.

She said it was not only PH in Selangor that had yet to conclude seat allocations, and that the state should not be singled out.

“Our goal is to preserve the existing government and ensure that the candidates chosen will bring victory. It is not easy. “

Present at the press conference were state PKR secretary Borhan Aman Shah and some 50 party grassroots members, who declared their support for Azmin.

“We hope that all component parties in PH, especially in Selangor, can show unwavering support and honour the position of Azmin as Selangor PH chairman,” said Borhan.

“This should be achieved to ensure the continuity of the PH government in the state of Selangor.” – February 5, 2018.