Idris and Azman in Harapan? PKR and Amanah might take one each
Pakatan Harapan's top brass are currently mulling a proposal for PKR and Amanah to each recruit either Idris Haron or Nor Azman Hassan as candidates for the forthcoming Malacca State Legislative Assembly election.
Idris (above) and Nor Azman are among the four, who as then Malacca assemblypersons, caused the collapse of the Sulaiman Md Ali administration on Oct 4 and paved the way for the snap election.
It is understood that Harapan has rejected a proposal to accept the other two - Noor Effandi Ahmad and Norhizam Hassan Baktee - on grounds that they defected from Harapan component parties back in March last year.
When contacted, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng confirmed that such discussions are taking place, but he would not elaborate.
Similarly, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said the matter was being discussed and stressed that there hasn't been a decision yet.
Amanah party leaders did not respond to requests for comments.
Malaysiakini learned that after the Harapan presidential council meeting yesterday, DAP followed up with a central committee meeting which resolved that they could not accept the decision.
Nor Azman Hassan
Lim told Malaysiakini that his party would not change its stance because it has to first set a proper agenda for the coming state election.
"This is a matter of principle. We must show that we are a principled coalition.
"The DAP central committee has decided to reject all four of them. We will not change our decision," Lim said.
However, what the DAP leadership thinks did not hold sway on the Harapan presidential council.
In a press release earlier today, Lim said the party had been outvoted in the Harapan presidential council and was compelled to abide by the majority decision in the interest of coalition unity.
Sources told Malaysiakini that PKR and Amanah believe that Idris and Nor Azman can help swing votes to Harapan.
PKR is believed to be in favour of recruiting Idris while Amanah is in favour of recruiting Nor Azman. Sources said Harapan has not decided where to field them.
Source: We expect the turnout to be low...
One DAP-linked source told Malaysiakini that DAP was of the opinion that recruiting Idris and Nor Azman would cost the coalition votes by disincentivising coalition supporters from coming out to vote.
"Moreover, we expect the turnout this time to be low... We can't afford to take big risks for small gains," said the source.
Meanwhile, a PKR-linked source said some PKR leaders raised objections internally to recruiting Idris and Nor Azman.
This source claimed that those advocating for Idris and Nor Azman's recruitment are the minority, but they have managed to sway party president Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar has publicly advocated for Idris, Nor Azman, Effandi and Norhizam by absolving them of complicity in the "Sheraton Move", which caused the collapse of the Harapan federal government.
He elaborated on this yesterday by stating that the four withdrew support for Sulaiman only after reaching a deal with Harapan. Therefore, said Anwar, it was wrong to abandon them now.
Yesterday, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli accused Amanah of being the quartet's main backers and persuading Harapan to accept them.
Lim told Malaysiakini that his party would not change its stance because it has to first set a proper agenda for the coming state election.
"This is a matter of principle. We must show that we are a principled coalition.
"The DAP central committee has decided to reject all four of them. We will not change our decision," Lim said.
However, what the DAP leadership thinks did not hold sway on the Harapan presidential council.
In a press release earlier today, Lim said the party had been outvoted in the Harapan presidential council and was compelled to abide by the majority decision in the interest of coalition unity.
Sources told Malaysiakini that PKR and Amanah believe that Idris and Nor Azman can help swing votes to Harapan.
PKR is believed to be in favour of recruiting Idris while Amanah is in favour of recruiting Nor Azman. Sources said Harapan has not decided where to field them.
Source: We expect the turnout to be low...
One DAP-linked source told Malaysiakini that DAP was of the opinion that recruiting Idris and Nor Azman would cost the coalition votes by disincentivising coalition supporters from coming out to vote.
"Moreover, we expect the turnout this time to be low... We can't afford to take big risks for small gains," said the source.
Meanwhile, a PKR-linked source said some PKR leaders raised objections internally to recruiting Idris and Nor Azman.
This source claimed that those advocating for Idris and Nor Azman's recruitment are the minority, but they have managed to sway party president Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar has publicly advocated for Idris, Nor Azman, Effandi and Norhizam by absolving them of complicity in the "Sheraton Move", which caused the collapse of the Harapan federal government.
He elaborated on this yesterday by stating that the four withdrew support for Sulaiman only after reaching a deal with Harapan. Therefore, said Anwar, it was wrong to abandon them now.
Yesterday, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli accused Amanah of being the quartet's main backers and persuading Harapan to accept them.
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