“PAS is truly brave if it insists” on contesting for seats such as those held by PKR president Wan Azizah Ismail and her deputy, Azmin Ali, said Wong Chin Huat.
He was commenting on a Selangor PAS statement that it will contest for 42 state seats, including Wan Azizah’s Kajang seat and Azmin’s Bukit Antarabangsa.
Citing statistics from the last general election, Wong told FMT there was little chance that the Islamist party would win either seat in a three-cornered fight.
“More than 40% of the voters in Kajang are non-Malays and it’s unlikely that non-Malays will vote for PAS,” he said.
“As for Bukit Antarabangsa, non-Malays make up 35% of the voters. Also, does PAS really think it’s going to be able to wrest a seat from someone who has been doing quite well as menteri besar?
“In the event of three-cornered fights, PAS will not be able to take any seat away from Umno, PKR, DAP or Amanah, even if you’re talking about a Malay-majority constituency.”
Wong also said it would be interesting to know whether some figures in PKR still felt the need to negotiate with the Islamist party, now that it has given notice to fight against Pakatan Harapan.
PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin issued a statement saying that avoiding three-corner fights was still a priority for Pakatan.
“PKR Wanita sees it fit for the opposition to have PAS on the opposition team rather than fight against it.”
She said even if PAS was not going to join Pakatan, PKR had a role to play in preventing three-cornered fights, especially in the battle for parliamentary seats.
“In constituencies where Muslims are the majority, split votes will only mean a walkover for BN,” she said.
“Although some may not appreciate the efforts taken to negotiate with PAS, it is nevertheless in the coalition’s best interests that PAS agree to stay out of the constituencies which PH wishes to contest.”
She said the question was no longer about getting PAS to commit to Pakatan’s common policies and ideology but about numbers and winning the 14th general election.
“As the general election draws near, PAS’s grassroots members are certainly very much still with the opposition,” she said.
“We are optimistic that a practical solution is all we need to increase Pakatan’s chances of winning in the next general election.”