PETALING JAYA: Except for a couple of seats which are winnable by either Bersatu or PAS in the coming six state elections, Perikatan Nasional has settled its seat distribution, says Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu aka Peja.
He said the Perikatan seat distribution committee which met yesterday had finalised “99.99% of which party gets what seats” in all the six states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang.
The Bersatu team, he said, was led by him and represented by Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin and Datuk Dr Marzuki Mohamad.
As for the PAS team, it was led by its deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man as well as Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.
“The handful of seats in contention are those which can be won by either Bersatu or PAS, and thus both parties are still trying to work out which party will have a better chance of winning should they go head to head with Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Harapan.
“These seats in dispute will now be decided by the top echelons of both parties.
“That aside, we are all ready for the elections in all six states. Our machinery on the ground consisting of Bersatu and PAS is also on standby,” said Ahmad Faizal.
He added that both parties had agreed on the criteria of the candidates.
“They must be educated and be able to represent all races and religions.
“I am pushing for a higher percentage of women candidates as I did in the last state election in Perak,” said Ahmad Faizal, who is Perak Perikatan chief and a former Perak mentri besar
PAS election director Muhammad Sanusi, who is Kedah Mentri Besar, said the party’s machinery in the state was awaiting for the announcement to start campaigning.
“Just a couple of seats in a couple of states are in dispute. So we can start focusing on filtering the candidates for the seats that each party has been given,” he said when contacted after the meeting.
Meanwhile, sources said the seats in contention were in Selangor and Kedah as “both Bersatu and PAS have strong support on the ground in these two states, judging from their performance in the last general election”.
Perikatan comprises Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).
The coalition leaders have agreed to have only one party among them contesting each state seat to ensure a one-on-one fight against the unity government coalitions of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional.
