PKR will be contesting the most seats in the 14th general election while Dr Mahathir Mohamad will be Pakatan Harapan’s prime minister candidate.

The consensus was reached last night in a meeting at the 11th hour to finalise seat allocations for PH component parties in Peninsular Malaysia.

The coalition will announce the number of peninsular parliamentary seats for each party at the PH convention in Shah Alam today, sources from the parties told The Malaysian Insight.

Of the 165 peninsular federal seats, Bersatu is allocated 52, PKR 51, DAP 35 and Amanah 27.

With the seats it is expected to contest in Sabah and Sarawak, PKR will be contesting the highest number of seats.

“Bersatu gets the most seats in semenanjung (peninsula). Overall, PKR will get the most seats, including in Sabah and Sarawak,” one source said.

“Most of the seats were decided on Friday night, while the remaining seats involving Bersatu, PKR and Amanah were finalised last night,“ another source said.

PH parties were racing to decide on seat divisions ahead of the PH Convention today. 

Besides Dr Mahathir’s nomination as the coalition’s prime minister candidate, PH is expected to announce PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as deputy prime minister.

The opposition pact delayed the announcement of its PM and DPM candidates after PKR disagreed to  Dr Mahathir’s nomination. The former prime minister, now the Bersatu chairman, had sacked de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim from government in 1998, turning his former protege into an opposition icon in the process

The other parties had agreed to the proposal at a PH retreat in early December, but PKR said it needed more time to discuss the matter internally.

Sources later told The Malaysian Insight that PKR had set three conditions for Dr Mahathir to be named the PM candidate. The party wanted Anwar to be made prime minister within a year of the coalition winning the election; it wanted the highest number of seats; and it wanted  Dr Mahathir to agree to institutional reforms.

The matter was to have been decided on Thursday evening at the PH presidential council meeting but a letter from Anwar to the council, delivered through PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, said more feedback was needed from civil society groups and activists.

Anwar also wanted PH to settle all issues related to seat negotiations before naming the PM candidate.

Other PH leaders have supported the strategy of PH naming its PM candidate ahead of the election.

PH secretary-general Saifuddin Abdullah said Anwar might be the best choice for PM but because he was still in jail, it was necessary to name  Dr Mahathir the interim prime minister.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said PH had to name its prime minister candidate ahead of the polls to win voter confidence. – January 7, 2018.