Melaka DAP has reiterated that Pakatan Harapan (PH) will contest the Nov 14 state election on its own, contradicting PKR’s position that the coalition remains open to electoral cooperation with other parties.
Melaka DAP chief Khoo Poay Tiong said all three PH component parties in the state had agreed to go solo, adding that DAP was targeting eight seats.
“I have mentioned this many times. PH is going solo this time. This is the consensus among Melaka PH. We are going solo,” he told FMT.
DAP acknowledges tough contest
Khoo acknowledged that PH faced a difficult contest, with the emergence of a blue-green alliance between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PAS in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections potentially extending to Melaka.
“We admit that it is not easy, but we will go all out to fight. We will try our best,” he said.
However, Melaka PKR chief Adam Adli said no decision had been made on electoral cooperation with other parties, stressing that any arrangement must be agreed upon collectively by PH.
He said the coalition remained open to discussions with other parties, but this should not be interpreted as a pact being finalised.
“Discussing means that you can invite us over for a meeting or anything. There is nothing wrong with communicating between the parties. But all decisions will be made as PH,” he said.
On seat negotiations between DAP and Amanah in Melaka, Adam said discussions had been completed and both parties were working to finalise an arrangement acceptable to them.
“We will make sure that all of us can agree with each other,” he said.
PH leaders offer differing positions
PH leaders have expressed differing views on possible cooperation with other parties in the Melaka election.
Yesterday, PH election director Amirudin Shari reiterated that the coalition remained open to electoral pacts, despite Khoo’s declaration that PH would contest on its own.
Amirudin reportedly said PH was prepared for all possibilities, including contesting alone, cooperating with other parties or joining a larger coalition.
He said the final decision rested with the PH presidential council, which was still considering possible negotiations with BN.
PH has also been linked to a possible alliance with Bersatu following a dinner involving leaders from their respective state chapters. DAP leaders did not attend the gathering.
BN open to negotiations
BN, meanwhile, has said it would negotiate with potential partners, despite previously expressing an intention to work with Perikatan Nasional following the alliance’s victory in Negeri Sembilan on Aug 1.
Melaka will go to the polls on Nov 14, with nominations scheduled for Oct 31 and early voting on Nov 10. A total of 28 state seats will be contested.
