Opposition's by-elections plan hit a brick wall as PAS is hell-bent on contesting both seats

PETALING JAYA: The attempt by Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali (pix) to broker a deal between Pakatan Harapan and PAS for the by-elections – to be held in Sungai Besar, Selangor, and Kuala Kangsar, Perak – on June 18 looks set to hit a brick wall.
The suggestion by Azmin, who is PKR deputy president, that PKR contest Sungai Besar and PAS in Kuala Kangsar, faces a major obstacle.
DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua said the party would pool all its resources behind Amanah to take on both PAS and Barisan Nasional in Sungai Besar.
Pakatan Harapan (Amanah) must field candidates in the two by-elections on June 18 even if it results in a clash with PAS, he added.
"The opposition pact stood a good chance of doing better than PAS in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar polls, as the latter's support in the two areas were shifting," Pua, who is also Petaling Jaya Utara MP, said in a statement today.
Pua said DAP believed only Pakatan Harapan was a viable alternative to BN, and that voters knew they could not depend on PAS to express their dissatisfaction against BN.
Pua admitted that Azmin was attempting to convince PAS to yield the Sungai Besar spot to PKR, saying the Islamist party's refusal will prevent a straight fight from occurring.
Meanwhile, PAS vice-president and Bukit Gantang MP Idris Ahmad said the party would be announcing its candidates for the two by-elections at the party headquarters this Friday.
PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had over the weekend said his party would not yield either seat to Pakatan Harapan.
The by-elections follow the deaths of Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad and Sungai Besar MP Datuk Noriah Kasnon in a helicopter crash in Sarawak on May 5.
Nominations have been set for June 5.