SABAH DAP said it is upbeat an electoral pact between Pakatan Harapan and Parti Warisan Sabah will be sealed before nomination day.  

Its chairman Stephen Wong said a seat sharing structure is in place to avoid parties making bad and hasty decisions. 

“The decision within Pakatan Harapan is DAP will contest in seven parliamentary and 17 state seats. We are ready,” he said during a press conference announcing the party’s fundraising dinner in Kota Kinabalu today.  

“But this will have to wait until the negotiation with Warisan is completed. We are ready for some kind of cooperation to beat Barisan Nasional.

“We are hoping to complete discussions before the parliament sitting on March 5.”

Also present were secretary-general Chan Foong HIn and party adviser Jimmy Wong, who predicted Parliament would be dissolved by the end of the sitting in April. 

On another note, DAP Pensiangan coordinator Adrian Lasimbang has expressed fear over the Election Commission’s (EC) handling of the early and postal voters. 

He said the number of areas eligible for early and postal voting have increased from three to 12. They are allowed to cast their votes five days before vote counting day. 

He said the security of the ballot boxes was also in questioned, as agents needed to sign on a security tag attached to strings used to seal the box, instead of signing on the boxes as in previous elections. 

“The votes would be collected and locked by the police for five days. During that period, anything can happen. The boxes can easily be changed by removing the security tags,” he said, adding EC had organised a polling and counting agent (Paca) briefing on February 22. 

Police, military and the media are allowed to do postal voting, while Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Prison Department, Fire and Rescue Department, government hospitals and clinic facilities, police volunteers, Civil Defence Force, Disaster Management Agency, National Registration Department officers at Urban transformation centres vote early. 

The closing dates to register as postal voters are until nomination day and for early voters. It is five days before nomination day. – February 27, 2018.