JOHOR BARU: Negotiations on seat distribution involving Pakatan Harapan component parties for the upcoming Johor state election is expected to be finalised tomorrow.
Johor Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) deputy chairman Dzulkefly Ahmad said the discussion on the distribution of seats involved PH component parties - Amanah, PKR and Johor DAP.
He said this will be followed up with seat distribution talks with allies in the state polls - Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) and Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan).
"The 18 State Assembly seats vacancy in the Johor PH coalition created by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) after the 14th General Election (GE14) is a major issue that needs to be resolved.
"In GE14, Bersatu contested 18 Johor state seats and won eight. Amanah contested 12 seats and won nine seats while PKR contested 12 seats and won five.
"The PH Johor formula is simple, keep the party that won in GE14 in the seats that will be contested in the state election this time, provided they put up a candidate who can win. But for the 18 seats left by Bersatu, it needs to be resolved by consensus by Johor PH.
"Inter-party negotiations are currently underway involving Amanah, PKR and DAP. We expect it to be completed tomorrow," he said when contacted today.
Meanwhile, Dzulkefly said, the involvement of MUDA, Pejuang and Warisan is quite crucial in the Johor election this time around.
"It not only provides a different dynamic in the Johor PH coalition but would also be able to compete against other alliances including Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
"Opposition parties have to be a strong bloc, not all have to be components of PH, but the opposition has to work together so that there is no clash that will harm the opposition.
"Therefore, PH Johor will discuss and refine the seats that will be given to Muda, Pejuang and Warisan," Dzulkefly said.
He added that once details are finalised a press conference will be held to announce the cooperation involving the opposition to face the Johor state election.
The Johor state assembly was officially dissolved on Saturday (Jan 22) after obtaining the consent of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
The outgoing Johor State Assembly comprised 56 seats with Umno (14), DAP (14), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (11), PKR (7), Parti Amanah Negara (6), MIC (2) and Pas (1).
The Johor government had a slim majority of one seat with 28 seats compared to the 27 seats held by the opposition bloc in the assembly.
The state government's position became tenuous following the death of Kempas state assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian, who is also the former Menteri Besar, on Dec 21 last year.
The Election commission is scheduled to hold a special meeting on Feb 9 to decide on details and dates, namely nomination day, early voting day and normal voting day for the Johor State Election.
The Johor polls is the fourth state election to be held since the 14th General Election. State polls were previously held in Sabah, Melaka and Sarawak.