PKR names candidates for 35 seats, wants talks with DAP on five others

PKR today named candidates for 35 of the 40 constituencies it plans to contest in the 11th Sarawak Election.

Its state chief Baru Bian said that he wanted to continue negotiating with DAP on the five other seats to avoid clashing with each other in any constituency.

"We are trying to avoid any overlapping seats because we are aware that our main enemy is Barisan Nasional," he told a press conference here.

He declined to name the constituencies but news reports identified them as Tasik Biru, Mambong, Bukit Semuja, Simanggang and Mulu.

DAP yesterday named the five constituencies as among the 30 that it would contest, and state chairman Chong Chieng Jen maintained that the list was final and non-negotiable.

PKR yesterday received a blow when its state vice-chairman Boniface Willy Tumek quit the party after he was not nominated to contest in Tasik Biru.

Twenty-four of the candidates named today are new faces while the others contested in the 2011 state election.

Baru himself will defend the Ba' Kelalan seat. The other two PKR incumbents, See Chee How and Ali Biju, will again contest in Batu Lintang and Krian respectively.