ALTHOUGH Anwar Ibrahim has shortlisted “two or three” parliamentary seats for his Dewan Rakyat comeback, he said he still cannot reveal which seat he will be contesting.

He said it was not proper to reveal anything now when discussions were still ongoing.

“We are seriously contemplating a few constituencies. I don’t want to preempt anything.

“There are seats in the north, south… maybe even Pekan, ‘kalau kosong la’ (if the seat is vacant),” he joked when speaking to reporters after opening the Penang PKR divisional annual general meeting in Prai today.

Pekan is the seat held by former prime minister Najib Razak from Barisan Nasional. Najib is facing multiple charges such as abuse of power and money-laundering in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.

Anwar said once he and his colleagues have sorted out the seat, he would discuss the matter with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other Pakatan Harapan colleagues.

He said once a decision had been made, he would inform DAP, Amanah and Bersatu to get consensus.

“Once that is achieved, I will inform you (the media).”

Anwar said there were also several matters to consider in deciding which seat to contest, such as the willingness of the incumbent MP to make way.

He said most PKR MPs were willing to vacate their seats for him, should he ask them to, although many did not openly say so.

“I also have to be comfortable with the seat. The electorate must also be comfortable with me.

“Then there are the views of our PH colleagues because I will be offering myself as a PH candidate,” he said.

Asked to comment on views that one PKR MP would be forced to “sacrifice” to make way for his return to parliament, Anwar said it was true that there had been views that he should not go for a seat already occupied.

“It is not ‘dikorbankan’ (sacrificed) but ‘dikosongkan’ (vacated).… (but) we cannot be praying for others to die to contest in the by-election.

“The seat has to be vacated so I can ask the people for a mandate again. This is a process acceptable in any democracy

“They also know that I was supposed to be a candidate but I could not. Now, we can wait for the next general election… but that is too long (to wait).”

Anwar also said that when he returns to the Dewan Rakyat, his focus would be to help implement reforms in the parliament, which is what senior leaders like him and DAP veteran MP Lim Kit Siang should do.

“We should be focusing our efforts in enhancing the Parliament’s role. There are many issues that involve reforms in the procedures, and positions of the working committees.

“Parliament has been dysfunctional. You disagree with them, you get a six-month suspension. Many things were erroneous, a fallacy.”

He also said Parliament could not be confined to only debates among the MPs.

“We have to have parliamentary committees on defence, education. We are just beginning with them, as PH has done it. I am just going to pursue that,” he said. – September 2, 2018.