Pakatan states adamant they will not go to polls this year

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Harapan has confirmed that Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan will not be holding their state polls this year in view of the year-end floods.

As talk hots up about an impending dissolution of Parliament, the coalition’s chairman, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said the three states will not go along if the 15th General Election (GE15) is called soon.

Anwar said this was decided after discussions between Pakatan’s Presidential Council and the mentris besar and chief minister of the three states.

“These three states have decided to concentrate on facing the floods and alleviating the burden of flood victims,” he told reporters in Parliament House after the presidential council meeting yesterday.

“Therefore, they won’t have elections until the floods are over in February or March,” he said.

He said leaders of several parties also do not favour holding the polls now, adding that state governments should not be adding to the misery of the people facing flood woes.

PAS had also said last week that it would not dissolve the assemblies in the three states under its rule –Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

On another matter, Anwar said that if elections are called soon, Pakatan would use its current logo.

There have been plans for a new logo but he said there was too little time to introduce it.

“We have agreed on a new logo but since the situation is desperate, we will maintain the logo we used in GE14,” he said.

Pakatan will also compete with one logo in the general election, he said.

In the Johor state elections in January, PKR used its own logo while the other coalition members – DAP and Amanah – used the Pakatan logo.

On Malaysian United Democratic Alliance’s (Muda) bid to join Pakatan, Anwar said he was happy with the initial progress.

There has been talk that PKR’s youth wing is unhappy with the Muda move but Anwar said the presidential council’s decision would prevail.

Pakatan has also presented its shadow Budget with 10 key recommendations.