Saifuddin: Status quo for Pakatan-Warisan relations
KOTA KINABALU, April 23 — Pakatan Harapan and Parti Warisan remain on cordial terms as members of the federal Opposition but have not yet explored options of working together in the coming election GE15, said outgoing PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said this was effectively the status quo.
“Today our focus is to strengthen PH, which is Upko, PKR, DAP and Amanah. Warisan is a friendly party. They are not a part of the alliance but in the opposition bloc with us, friendly towards us,” he said.
He said that there has been no talks between Opposition parties regarding the general election but they will communicate and convene on an ad hoc basis.
“For instance, the parliamentary committee on the anti-hopping law. The Opposition had five spots to fill, and we negotiated with Warisan for one of those seats, so in that way, we have negotiated,” he said.
On its stand whether to work with Perikatan Nasional and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Saifuddin said it was a possibility that they have yet to discuss.
“In our leadership retreat a year ago, we made a resolution to strengthen the party first. But in the event we still cannot form government, we felt that there was a need to open our doors to all parties.
“The sentence was open ended. I specifically did not mention any political parties. We said we will work on strengthening us first but if that is still not sufficient then we can open to all provided they agree to our principle and policy. That is our position. That is the true story of us working with other parties,” he said.
Saifuddin said that as the chairman of the resolution committee, he personally drafted the resolution and consequently remembered the position adopted.
“People can interpret it in many ways but that is the original text,” he said.
Saifuddin was asked to comment on talks that there were other PH leaders who had called for a working relationship with PN, and others, such as DAP’s Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Datuk Mohammad Sabu, who were vehemently against it.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin, who is in a straight fight for the PKR deputy presidency next month, said he was optimistic about his chances of winning,
“I have been in the party long – I can read body language, mannerism, response, demeanour and the like and I feel I have a good chance of being chosen,” he said.
The Kulim Bandar Baharu MP was in Kota Kinabalu for a quick stop to meet with members of the party in Sabah who called themselves Kumpulan Kekuatan Keadilan.
The group endorsed him as thei chosen candidate for the number two post, Fadlina Sidek as the women chief and Adam Adli as the youth chief.
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