GE15: Perak DAP eyeing eight parliamentary, 20 state seats

IPOH: IPOH, March 14 (Bernama)- Perak DAP intends to contest eight parliamentary and 20 state seats in the 15th General Election (GE15).

Its chairman Nga Kor Ming said Perak DAP would hold discussions with the top leadership of Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the state on the distribution of seats to avoid any clash among PH components in GE15.

Nga, who is also Teluk Intan MP and assemblyman for the Aulong state constituency in Perak, said he hoped the PH Presidential Council would give Perak DAP the nod for it to contest the seats it wanted.

The former Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker said this in his address at the 19th Perak DAP Convention at the Ipoh International Convention Centre here today. The convention was officiated by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

In GE14 held in May 2018, Perak DAP won all the seven parliamentary and 18 state seats it contested. PH, made up of DAP, PKR and Amanah, won GE14 but lost its majority in the Dewan Rakyat in February 2020 .

However, its Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong and Buntong assemblyman A. Sivasubramaniam left the party in March last year and have now joined Bersatu, which leads the current Perikatan Nasional government.

In an immediate reaction,Perak Amanah chairman Datuk Asmuni Awi said Perak DAP's request for eight parliamentary and 20 state seats would be discussed in detail with its leadership.

"But we have to look at the political interests between the parties, we can't just throw things around (the issue of seat distribution) because we have to look at the political impact, whether it is positive or otherwise. There has to be mutual consent,” he said.

He also said that Perak Amanah and Perak PKR would start holding a series of discussions from Thursday on seat distribution between them as part of their preparations for GE15.

"After we have completed the negotiations, we will refer to our respective party leadership who will make the final decision," he said when met by reporters here.

-- BERNAMA