GE13: Pakatan all set for elections

The Star
(shared bylines)

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat said it was all set for the 13th general election.

DAP deputy chairman Tan Kok Wai said: “Psychologically, we have been ready for months.”

Tan, who is in the four-man committee to decide on DAP's candidates list, also said that the party will name all of those who are contesting before nomination day.

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the party had been gearing up for the dissolution over the past two years.

“The list of candidates is ready and many of the candidates are new faces,” he said, adding that PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang would announce the candidates soon.

PKR vice-president Tian Chua told Bernama the dissolution was most awaited by the party.

“Right now, we are waiting for the Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers of the states under our administration to seek the consent of the Sultans and the Yang di-Pertua Negri to dissolve the state legislative assemblies,” he said.

The Opposition pact administers Kelantan, Kedah, Selangor and Penang.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said PSM called on all political parties to refrain from divisive racial campaigning.

“We urge Malaysians to think of their children's future when casting their votes,” he said.

Dr Jeyakumar said that PSM would contest in the Sungai Siput parliament seat and the Kota Damansara, Semenyih and Jelapang state seats.

He said he would be defending his Sungai Siput seat.

Sekinchan state assemblyman Ng Suee Lim said he would be defending his seat if everything went smoothly.

“I am confident of contesting as I have worked hard and served the constituency well,” he said.

He said that the parliament seats DAP would be contesting in Selangor were Serdang, Puchong, PJ Utara and Klang.

The state seats that DAP would be contesting in Selangor are Sekinchan, Sungai Pinang,

Pandamaran, Kota Shah Alam, Teluk Datuk, Sungai Pelek, Damansara Utama, Bukit Gasing,
Kampung Tunku, Seberang Jaya, Kinrara, Teratai, Kuala Kubu Baru, Balakong and Seri Kembangan.

Selangor state exco member Elizabeth Wong said Pakatan would contest in all 56 state seats in Selangor and the division between the parties would be similar to that of the 2008 general election.

■ For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site