DAP likely to contest 15 seats
DAP is looking at the possibility of contesting 15 seats in the upcoming Sarawak state polls following the latest round of talks with Pakatan Rakyat ally PKR.
DAP is looking at the possibility of contesting 15 seats in the upcoming Sarawak state polls following the latest round of talks with Pakatan Rakyat ally PKR.
Well-placed DAP sources said the talks held yesterday concluded that DAP would be conceding three of the five seats in which PKR is also claiming.
A final announcement is expected after lunch today by Pakatan top leaders, most likely in Parliament.
DAP is expected to bitterly concede its claim on Padungan, a seat which is in the heart of Kuching, currently held by PKR’s Dominique Ng.
The seat is highly symbolic to the party because Padungan has been DAP’s traditional stomping ground for more than two decades.
But Padungan is also PKR's sole seat in East Malaysia and Pakatan has a consensus in which incumbent party would be allowed to contest again.
PKR bags mix seats
DAP is also expected to concede its claim to Senadin, where ethnic Chinese makes up almost half the electorate, and ethnic Iban-majority seat Balai Ringin.
In the 2006 state elections, Senadin was contested by PKR while Balai Ringin was contested by Sarawak National Party (Snap).
Meanwhile, it is understood that PKR has dropped its claim to Dudong, a seat where ethnic Chinese makes up half the electorate while ethnic Iban voters makes up a third.
DAP lost Dudong by a mere 408 votes during the 2006 state elections.
However, the party can look forward to contesting in Batu Kawah, a Chinese-majority seat south of Kuching. This seat was contested by PKR in 2006 but the party fared poorly.
'Some in DAP unhappy'
It is understood that some DAP grassroots are very disappointed with the outcome of the seat talks because they see the party as the main opposition party, given that it won the most seats among opposition parties in the 2006 polls.
Back then, DAP won six out of 12 seats contested. PKR, Snap and an independent won one seat each. The Snap candidate has since defected to Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) while the independent has joined Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM).
“The grassroots wants more seats by virtue of being the biggest opposition party in Sarawak in terms of representation at the state legislative assembly,” said a source.
It is possible that DAP might still call for negotiations this morning given the groundswell of discontent, said sources.
It is believed that PKR’s supreme council discussed on the Sarawak seat allocations when it met at De Palma Hotel in Selangor yesterday evening, opening the possibility of further negotiations with DAP today.
It is understood that PKR is still negotiating seat allocations with Snap and PAS.
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