‘PH, Muda to negotiate seat allocations soon’

KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan (PH) will soon commence seat negotiations between Muda for the upcoming general election, signalling the formation of an official electoral pact between the opposition coalition and the youth-led party.

PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the allocations would soon be finalised and that he had met with Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman earlier this morning.

He said both parties had given positive indications on the electoral pact.

“We will discuss the matter soon,” he briefly told The Vibes when contacted today.

Echoing Nik Nazmi, PH communications director Fahmi Fadzil confirmed that the coalition will likely seal the electoral pact with Muda, apart from concluding the seat negotiations soon.

“In terms of the pact, there is a very high chance that it will be sealed in the immediate term,” he said.

This comes after Muda deputy president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz urged PH to conduct the seat negotiations immediately.

Amira, who is also Muda’s election director, said the party had already agreed to the terms of the electoral pact set by the PH presidential council on September 30.

This includes agreeing with PH’s prime ministerial candidate, that seat negotiations would not involve incumbent seats, and the requirement for Muda to seek PH’s approval before negotiating with another party or coalition.

PH had announced on October 12 that it will enter an electoral pact with Muda.

However, Amira stressed that no official seat negotiations have begun since the announcement.

Another PH source, who is familiar with the seat negotiations with Muda, urged the latter to be patient as there are internal issues that the coalition needs to resolve beforehand.

“Muda is now anxious that we will be announcing our seat allocation and distribution tomorrow at the PH convention tomorrow.

“But the reality is that we need to resolve this matter internally first,” said the source. 

PH is due to hold its national convention in Perak tomorrow, where several major announcements are also expected to take place.

The source also said Muda would be worse off running solo in the coming general election, and that there were objections by PH to the initial seat allocation requested by Muda. 

“By seeing the list, we are agreeable to it (pact with Muda) as it consists of rural, semi-rural, and urban seats but we need to resolve this internally first.” – The Vibes, October 19, 2022