CHERAS: Perikatan Nasional candidates will be chosen to appeal to not only the Malays but also non-Malays in the pending six state elections, says Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin.
The Opposition chief said that while Perikatan was quite sure of retaining the states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, it wanted to ensure they received bigger majorities.
He was speaking to the media after attending a Gerakan Chinese New Year open house with Perikatan Nasional party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Menara Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia here Sunday (Jan 22). PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang and Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Dominic Lau were also present.
The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) secretary-general also said that the Perikatan wins in the last general election were not due to the "green movement" of PAS but due to the "prussian blue momentum" of Perikatan.
"We want to win Selangor, Negri Sembilan and if possible Penang. When we talk about seat negotiations, we have to be very careful about choosing the candidates.
"For all the states under Perikatan, we can win big but when it comes to Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang under Pakatan Harapan rule, we must make sure all the Perikatan candidates are acceptable not only to the Malays but also the non-Malays," said Hamzah, who is also the Larut MP.
Hamzah, however, refused to say when the three state assemblies of states under Perikatan would be dissolved.
"Let us keep this to ourselves, some things we do not tell," said Hamzah.
At a media conference later, Gerakan president Lau said that although the party had not managed to clinch any seats in the last general election under Perikatan, it will still be contesting in the pending six state elections.
"Our principles on the seat negotiation is to make sure that Perikatan wins. In the state elections, seat negotiations will be based on who has the best chance to win the state assembly seats," said Lau.
Six states – Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang – will be holding their state polls in the coming months.
