KUCHING: PKR Sarawak has accused Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) of “constantly moving the goalposts” in their seat allocation talks for the coming state election.
Enough of the antics, the former has issued the Sarawak-based opposition party an ultimatum — finalise the seat allocation arrangement by month end or else we’ll call off all talks.
PKR Sarawak chief Larry Sng warned that if the deal is not secured by then his party will not pursue the matter with PSB any further.
“I have conveyed my party’s stand that a deal should be secured before month end.
“If not, as far as Keadilan is concerned, we will not pursue any further discussion with them,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Sng was prompted for comments on PSB’s decision not to go along with Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak state chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s suggestion of a seat sharing formula of 30 percent for PSB and 70 percent for PH.
Rejecting the PH proposal, PSB said in a statement on Sunday that it would stick with its plan to contest in all 82 states seats in the 12th state polls.
Apparently, PSB felt that being the largest opposition party in the state, it could win the state election on its own without the cooperation of the Malayan-based PH opposition.
In a WhatsApp message to the media yesterday, Sng said PH Sarawak had discussed the seat allocation with PSB in private, believing that it was the way forward.
“However, their response has not been forthcoming. They want the lion’s share of seats, despite not having been tested in any election,” he said.
In the meantime, he said he was realistic about the chances of PKR Sarawak in the state election.
Last Sunday, Chong said PH was prepared to strike a deal with PSB and work together in the state election, proposing a seat sharing ratio of 30:70 whereby DAP, PKR and PSB will each contest in 30 percent of the seats with the remaining 10 percent contested by Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah). DAP, PKR and Amanah make up the PH coalition.
Chong’s rationale for this formula was to avoid a situation of having a dominant party in a coalition.
