PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said Pakatan has begun preparations for the state polls expected to be held within the next few months, possibly between June and July.
The state election in Sarawak, last held in 2006, must be called within 16 months. Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia in which its election is not held at the same time as national polls.
Saifuddin said the one-on-one strategy employed by the opposition coalition, which resulted in great success at the 2008 general election, would be adopted at the Sarawak state election.“PKR, DAP and PAS have in principal agreed to contest the state seats one-on-one with BN. We certainly hope to make significant impact this time,” he told Malaysiakini.
The political tsunami of 2008 saw five states in Peninsular Malaysia falling to the opposition as well as the ruling BN being denied its much vaunted two-third majority in Parliament.
There are 71 seats in the Sarawak assembly, of which 62 are controlled by BN. DAP, newly-formed Parti Cinta Malaysia and independents collectively hold nine seats.
However, the bitter rivalry between local DAP and PKR chieftains in Sarawak, as well as the potential for unexpected independents jumping into the fray, may throw a spanner in the works for Pakatan.
The 2008 general election saw a number of three-cornered fights among the Pakatan parties in Sabah and Sarawak as local leaders were unable to reach an amicable solution.
Saifuddin, who is also Machang MP, said the matter was discussed at the Pakatan presidential council meeting on Monday.
The PKR secretary-general said the council will focus on discussing the Sarawak state elections in the coming weeks, in particular the right strategies to be employed and the deployment of its resources.
“We hope this would help us to be better prepared when the time comes,” he said.
Najib announces goodies
In a clear sign of an impending state election, Prime Minister Najib Razak went to Sarawak last week and announced several goodies including a RM35 million allocation to improve living conditions in four resettlement schemes.
During his visit to Sarawak, Najib had confidently predicted that the opposition parties would be unable to challenge BN dominance in the state in the upcoming election.
According to him, the results of the 2008 general election would not influence Sarawak voters as the people there were concerned more with local issues than national ones.The prime minister is making yet another trip to Sarawak on Monday, this time to officiate the 12th Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) convention in Kuching.
Najib, who is also BN chairperson, sees the state election as a vital indicator of his popularity as premier, a position he held since last April.
The component parties comprising Sarawak BN are PBB, Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).
Meanwhile, Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim said he too would be making frequent visits to the state in the coming months.
news courtesy of Malaysiakini
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