State polls: Only a few seats left to be finalised - Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR - Only six or seven seats out of nine overlapping seats to be contested by Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) in the upcoming state elections are yet to be finalised, said PH communications director Fahmi Fadzil.

The Communications and Digital Minister said he believed that the matter would be ironed out amicably soon.

"For the time being, the party (PH) will leave it to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PH chairman) and the top leadership of the Unity Government to resolve the matter (and) I believe a solution will be reached soon.”

"After that, we will focus on connecting with the people and start campaigning when the time comes,” he told reporters after launching the MYTV Tour programme at the Kerinchi People’s Housing Project (PPR) flats here today.

On June 18, UMNO secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki reportedly said that talks at the BN-PH Negotiation Committee had been completed, but there were overlapping claims on nine out of 245 state seats to be contested.

The six states facing elections soon are Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

Commenting on calls from certain quarters for action to be taken against former DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua over his statement calling BN a ‘corrupt coalition’, Fahmi said he believed that DAP would address the issue appropriately.

"We will let DAP decide on the form of action. We do not want to poke our noses into other parties’ affairs. It is up to them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fahmi described all the criticisms and views expressed by ‘friends’ from the Unity Government component parties as lessons for them to strengthen and expedite their efforts to assist the people.

He is also of the opinion that the matter would not affect voters’ sentiment in the coming state elections because the people understand the efforts made by the government to safeguard their well-being after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commenting on rumours that MCA Youth would boycott the state polls, Fahmi described it as part and parcel of politics, adding that the issue will "subside” once negotiations on seat allocation are completed.

Earlier in his speech, the minister expressed hope that the programme would aid the government in providing accurate and authentic information to the public because MYTV Broadcasting Sdn Bhd (MYTV) will give free decoders to eligible households.

"I was made to understand that the programme will be carried out nationwide with the Lembah Pantai constituency as the first location. Through this initiative, the community will get free digital TV broadcasts of all government and private TV channels,” he said. - Bernama