Selangor PPBM rejects seat negotiations with PH allies

Party was set up to compete with Umno, so we want to contest 12 state seats currently under Umno, says Selangor PPBM leader

(FMT) – Selangor PPBM has broken ranks with its Pakatan Harapan allies in the state, saying it does not agree with the seat-sharing arrangement that the coalition has announced so far.

PPBM information chief Sallehudin Amiruddin said it would not recognise the outcome of the seat negotiations, which Selangor PH had said was settled for 35 out of the 56 seats in the state.

Yesterday, Selangor DAP deputy chairman Gobind Singh Deo said the seats agreed on were those previously contested by PKR, DAP and the current Amanah assemblymen, who stood under the PAS banner in the 13th general election (GE13).

“This is only our first meeting to negotiate the share of seats and we have succeeded in settling 62% of the total.

“We will now proceed to have bilateral or three-party negotiations separately,” Gobind said.

However, according to Sallehudin, PPBM wants to contest the 12 seats that Umno won in GE13.

“We rejected the seat-sharing negotiations because of PKR’s claims to the 12 seats in question.

“PPBM was set up to compete with Umno and replace Umno. That is why we want those 12 seats.

“If any party wants to give us extra seats, we would be happy to accept. But we will not take anything other than the 12 we want to contest,” he told reporters after the Selangor PH seat negotiations committee meeting today.

“We have come to this conclusion based on today’s meeting and any further discussion on the matter will not be accepted.”

The meeting today was to discuss the remaining 21 seats which were not resolved, due to overlapping claims by the four component parties — DAP, PKR, Amanah and PPBM.

In GE13, PKR won 14 seats and DAP 15. Amanah has two assemblymen.

PKR and DAP each lost one seat subsequently after former menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim (Ijok) and Loh Chee Heng (Teluk Datuk) left their parties.

Yesterday, Selangor Amanah deputy chairman Saari Sungib said his party asked to contest another 18 state seats, besides the two now held by its assemblymen.

He said Amanah was willing to negotiate to give up four or five of the seats it claimed, but only if they were allocated to PPBM.

Today’s seat negotiation meeting was attended by only Amanah, PPBM and PKR.

Meanwhile, Selangor PH secretary Zuraida Kamaruddin said that only one seat was resolved at today’s meeting, bringing the total to 36 out of the 56 seats “settled” among the parties in the state.