KUCHING, Feb 1 — Sarawak Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has given an ultimatum that a deal with Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) over the seat allocation for the next state election must be secured by the end of the month, said state PKR chairman Larry Sng.
“I have conveyed my party’s stand that a deal should be secured before month end. If not, as far as Keadilan is concerned, we will not pursue any further discussion with them (PSB),” he said to The Borneo Post today.
Sng said excluding the seats that Sarawak PKR had won in the previous state election, the party was willing to negotiate half of their seats identified to be contested in the next election with PSB in the interest of the Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
“However, PSB hasn’t made any decision. They are constantly shifting the goal post,” he added.
As the chairman of Sarawak PKR, Sng said he was realistic about the chances of his party in the next election and it would be considered as a success if they manage to win six to seven of the state seats contested.
“However, it is unacceptable for us to give away seats which the party had previously won, particularly Batu Lintang and Ba Kelalan.”
Regardless, Sng said Sarawak PH had actually discussed seat allocation matter with PSB in private and the coalition believed that such cooperation, if it is possible, was the way forward.
“I have conveyed this position to PSB recently. However, their response hasn’t been forthcoming. They want the lion’s share of seats, despite not having been tested in any election,” he added.
On Sunday, on a Facebook live session, Sarawak PH and Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen said the opposition coalition was willing to negotiate with PSB to work together in the next state election and he had proposed a formula of ‘3+3+3+1’ on the seats allocation between political parties.
Chong proposed that Sarawak DAP, Sarawak PKR and PSB each contest 30 per cent of the constituency seats in the state election, while Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) would be contesting the remaining 10 per cent of the seats.
He explained the rationale behind the ‘3+3+3+1’ formula was to avoid having a dominant party in a coalition, citing the case of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) in Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition or the party Umno in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
However, the PSB secretariat had issued a statement rejecting Chong’s proposal and reiterated their intention to contest in all 82 seats in the state election. — Borneo Post Online
