Labuan is not for PAS, says DAP

DAP has shot down Labuan PAS' announcement that it would contest in Labuan.

LABUAN: Is a tussle brewing within Pakatan Rakyat partners in Labuan? Barely 48 hours after PAS declared that it will field a candidate in Labuan, DAP has gunned down its partner by saying that the seat is “yet to be finalised”.

Labuan DAP chief Lau Seng Kiat said the coalition is “still in the process of negotiation”.

”I have been advised by Pakatan leaders that allocation of seats for Sabah and Labuan have yet to be finalised.

“We are still in the process of negotiation to determine the contesting parties in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan,” he said.

Lau was commenting on a PAS statement that the coalition had decided to go with a PAS candidate for Labuan.

Federal Territories PAS commissioner Mohamad Noor Mohamad said this was decided during the coalition’s meeting on Aug 18.

“The agreement was made on Aug 18 and an agreement letter had been issued regarding the seat distribution.

“So it is clear that PAS will stand here in Labuan.

“PAS will also contest in Putrajaya and in Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur,” Mohamad reportedly said on Monday.

Lau however countered that the letter Mohamad had referred to was only a proposal.

“The letter was not an agreement…it was only a proposal.

“But whichever party is selected to represent Pakatan in Labuan, DAP will extend it whole support to that party candidate,” he said.

Incumbent a bankrupt

Labuan is currently a contentious seat with BN having a less than favourable performance record despite having successfully retained the seat in 2004 and 2008 polls.

Labuan incumbent is Umno’s Yussof Mahal, who has been declared a bankrupt by the court. Mahal has said that he is in the midst of sorting out his issues.

Thus far neither Umno, Barisan Nasional nor the state legislature have stated their stand on Mahal’s status despite calls to do so by the opposition and former Labuan Umno assemblyman Suhaili Abdul Rahman.

Meanwhile Anything But Umno (ABU) activist Haris Ibrahim had posted in March that the locals were wary of an Islamist candidate and would prefer an individual from moderate PKR.

“I’m told by the locals, including some of the Muslims, that the lifestyle of the majority in Labuan simply does not favour a PAS candidate.

“The locals I spoke to in Labuan feel that given local sentiment, a non-PAS Malay candidate has a better chance of displacing Umno-BN in the next elections,” he said.

He cited as an example the 2008 general elections and how PAS only contested and won in one seat – Titiwangsa – in Kuala Lumpur.

The Pakatan coalition – including PAS – won 10 of the 11 seat contested seats and garnered nearly 91% of the popular votes.