KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Wawasan Negara, which will be making its electoral debut in the Negri Sembilan polls, is eyeing contesting three or four of the 36 state seats, says its founder Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (pic).
Describing it as a good start for the month-old party, Hamzah said Wawasan’s candidates are all locals, comprising professionals, businessmen and former senior civil servants, including a medical doctor and a lawyer.
“From having nothing at all to three or four seats, that is a good start,” he said in an interview.
“We are not bringing in outsiders as candidates. A state assemblyman must always be present in his constituency,” he added.
Hamzah said Wawasan’s candidates will contest under the Perikatan Nasional banner in the state polls.
The Negri Sembilan election is on Aug 1.
The Registrar of Societies had, on July 6, approved the official name change for Parti Cinta Malaysia to Parti Wawasan Negara.
Following this, Perikatan announced that the party is now a member of the coalition.
Hamzah set up Wawasan after he was dismissed from Bersatu earlier this year. Bersatu is also a member of Perikatan, along with PAS, Gerakan and Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman). On why Wawasan sat out the just-concluded Johor polls, he said the party had only obtained its logo days before the election.
“We did hold discussions with various parties. But in the end, we decided not to contest,” he said.
Hamzah claimed there would be no clash between Barisan Nasional and Perikatan in the Negri Sembilan polls, adding that negotiations between the coalitions had been concluded and seats allocated.
“We sat down and had a discussion so that there will be no clashes between Barisan and Perikatan. We will just divide the remaining seats,” he said.
Barisan announced its candidates last night, while Perikatan is expected to announce its list tonight.
