PETALING JAYA – Despite widespread speculation, former Melaka chief minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron and three other assemblymen at the centre of the political crisis in the state have yet to formally apply to join Pakatan Harapan, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The PKR president also signalled that the possibility of them working with PH in the polls was not discussed in detail during the coalition’s presidential meeting today.
“They have not officially submitted (any application to join PH), although they did express their intentions,” Anwar said after the meeting at the PKR headquarters in Merchant Square this evening.
“So, we will have to wait, and we do not want to pre-empt (the matter), and give them time and the opportunity to engage (us) first.”
The meeting, which began at 4pm, was attended by PH’s top leadership, including DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, PKR vice-president Tian Chua, PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Amanah deputy president Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub and DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke, among others.
Earlier, Anwar had said that the four assemblymen were invited to a PH event on Monday night to show gratitude for bringing change in Melaka.
Anwar said that the quartet’s presence at the event held at the Melaka International Trade Centre does not mean they will contest under the PH banner in next month’s state polls.
Besides Idris, it was reported that former Pengkalan Batu assemblyman Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee, Datuk Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas) and Datuk Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor) were also present at the event.
On Monday, the Election Commission (EC) set November 20 as polling day and November 8 for nomination, giving parties 12 days to campaign.
On DAP’s rejection of Norhizam after the council meeting, Anwar said PH is still deliberating the matter.
“We have to wait, but we also respect DAP’s views and we understand its reasons. But since the matter has not even reached the application phase or become a serious discussion, we did not talk about the matter at length (during this meeting),” Anwar said.
On another matter, Anwar also hinted at the use of the PH banner, with former chief minister Adly Zahari leading the campaign.
“We discussed the polls and election machinery, which will be held under the Pakatan name led by Adly,” Anwar said.
Meanwhile, Tian Chua told reporters that PH is open to collaborating with those who can bring the coalition victory in the upcoming state polls.
He said this is among the tactical approaches PH should consider in exploring the best ways to win as many seats as possible.
However, he said the opposition has yet to finalise any list of candidates who will contest and have not confirmed whether Idris and the three others will be selected to run.
“The issue now is how we are going to focus on winning the Melaka election so that PH can retake the state government,” Tian Chua said.
“On the candidates, we did not discuss the matter in detail, but the main objective is to see PH being cohesive in facing Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional, and we must ensure we have strong cooperation between the three parties to persuade the people to give the mandate back to us.” – The Vibes, October 20, 2021
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