PETALING JAYA: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim today announced that he would be leaving his constituency of Permatang Pauh to contest a seat in Perak .
“I will have to go back to Permatang Pauh to appease them [constituents]; there was a very strong protest, but it was not my intention to disrespect the voters there,” Anwar said at a press conference at the PKR headquarters here today.
“Some have raised concerns, mentioned that they have been with me over these years, even when I was in prison, they were there to support me.”
But he said he explained to the voters there that his purpose for moving to Perak was to strengthen support there for Pakatan Rakyat, and not to “ditch” Permatang Pauh voters.
“They said to me, ‘now you’re strong, en route to Putrajaya, don’t just ditch us’. But that is not my intention.
“But my relations with Permatang Pauh is quite sentimental, so I would need to engage with them and explain to them by tomorrow.”
However, he refused to divulge exactly which seat he would be contesting in Perak, saying that the candidates’ list will be announced tomorrow after a meeting with Pakatan leaders.
Candidates’ list 90% ready
Meanwhile, election director Azmin Ali, who was also at the press conference, said that PKR was now “definitely ready” with its list of candidates.
“PKR has done a series of negotiations for seat allocations and the process has reached a 90% consensus.
“As the dissolution of Parliament requires us to finalise the candidates’ list, I can say that we are now definitely ready with our list,” said Azmin.
“In completely resolving the negotiation process, I have informed [Pas secretary-general] Mustafa Ali that PKR will contest for the Bera parliamentary seat as replacement for the Temerloh parliamentary seat.”
Azmin also said that PKR would also contest for the Labuan and Setiawangsa parliamentary seats.
When asked when PKR will announce the candidates for Selangor, he said that the announcement will be made soon.
On the Gelang Patah seat tussle, Azmin said: “I strongly believe that PKR, together with PAS and DAP, will be able to resolve the issue amicably in the interest of Pakatan.”
