PAKATAN Harapan has yet to begin negotiations for Selangor state seats, even as the January 31 deadline looms.

A special committee to negotiate seat allocations for the pact’s four component parties has not been formed, and among the reasons for the delay is PKR’s attempt to get PAS on board, believing that PH would fail in the state without the Islamist party’s help.

PAS severed ties with PKR last year and DAP in 2015, burying the old opposition pact of Pakatan Rakyat.

In the 14th general election, PAS will contest against Barisan Nasional and PH’s PKR, Bersatu and Amanah, creating three-cornered fights in Malay seats, to the benefit of BN.

State Amanah communications director Jamzuri Ardani said his party had sent a letter to state PH chairman Mohamed Azmin Ali, asking that the special committee be set up immediately to discuss seat allocations.

“But, we have not heard back from the state chief.”

Azmin is Selangor menteri besar, as well as PH’s deputy president and election director.

Jamzuri said talks on seat allocations had started among some PH component parties, but only informally.

Until today, all four parties have yet to come together to formally discuss the matter.

“If nothing is settled by January 31, the discussion will be handled at the national level,” said Jamzuri.

The Malaysian Insight has been made to understand that Bersatu, Amanah and DAP have talked about seats in Selangor, without PKR.

A source told The Malaysian Insight that a state PH election machinery meeting called by state PH election director Dr Xavier Jayakumar last week had failed to come to an agreement on seat allocations.

This is because reps from Bersatu, Amanah and DAP have no mandate to negotiate seats.

“The reps said they attended the meeting to talk about preparing for the election, not to talk about seat allocations. So, the meeting ended 30 minutes later,” said the source.

It is expected that PKR will contest up to 30 seats in Selangor in GE14, as previously announced following a state PH meeting.

In the 2013 general election, PKR contested only 20 out of the total of 56 state seats. DAP contested 15, while former ally PAS took on 20.

Only Kota Damansara was contested by both PKR and PAS.

DAP is expected to stick to the 15 seats it contested the last time, while the 20 previously contested by PAS would be split between new allies Bersatu and Amanah.

It was also proposed that Bersatu take on some seats that PKR had failed to win in GE13.

Another state PKR source said the party was looking into running in 21 seats, with the expectation of winning 19.

But, the issue is that PKR is split into two camps, and only one camp had agreed to the 21 seats.

PKR and PAS each have 13 state seats, while DAP has 14 and Amanah, two.

BN has 12, and the remaining two state seats in Selangor are held by independents. – January 25, 2018.