PKR's talks with Muda on seat pact at Johor polls collapse

Negotiations on an electoral pact between opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and former Cabinet minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman's Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) for the Johor election have collapsed.

Mr Syed Saddiq said yesterday that official negotiations between both parties were considered to be over, after PKR decided that it would name its candidates for the remaining seven of 20 seats it is contesting, effectively closing the door on ceding any seats to Muda.

The collapse of the deal could put Muda on a collision course with the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) pact led by Datuk Seri Anwar, should it choose to contest seats where PKR is fielding candidates.

Muda, a youth-based party that will make its electoral debut in Johor, is not part of PH but has agreed to negotiate with the pact's three member parties to get each to cede a few seats to it.

Although its talks with PKR have failed, Muda reached an accord with PH's two other component parties, Parti Amanah Negara and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), last week. Amanah ceded four of its 20-seat share in Johor to Muda, while DAP ceded two of the 16 seats it was supposed to contest.

The negotiations took place under PH's "big tent" policy - an attempt to unite all opposition parties and prevent multi-cornered fights that tend to work against the opposition parties. The strategy is meant to enable PH to present a united front for a general election widely expected later this year.

Muda wanted Larkin, Kempas and Gambir from PKR, but was offered three entirely different seats. Both sides failed to agree on a resolution ahead of a self-imposed deadline on Sunday.

Mr Anwar seemed to have left some room for negotiation when he named candidates for only 13 seats on Monday despite being scheduled to announce all 20.

But the prospect of a deal looked gloomy as the 13 seats included the three that Muda had been negotiating for.

No progress was reported despite both parties publicly reiterating their commitment to work out a deal. Mr Anwar is now scheduled to announce the rest of the PKR candidates during another trip to central Johor today.

Johor PKR chairman Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh said yesterday that as Muda did not take up PKR's offer of seats, the negotiations could not continue.

"The three seats demanded by Muda are urban mixed seats that can't easily be conceded without factoring in the strength of PKR," he said in a statement.

Muda's Mr Syed Saddiq said that the party still intends to prevent multi-cornered clashes with PH in Johor and that it is still open to any fresh negotiations to that end.

Muda members are meeting this weekend to decide the next course of action, but Mr Syed Saddiq has hinted that PKR and Muda might end up clashing with each other.

"If the seat overlap between PKR and Muda can't be averted, Muda leaves the decision in the hands of Johor voters," he said.

However, Mr Syed Ibrahim urged Muda not to resort to threats of seat clashes. "Let's not affect the opposition's solidarity for the sake of demands alone," he said.

Muda's clash with PKR would further diminish PH's chances of repeating its electoral performance in 2018, when it formed the Johor government for the first time. The state government collapsed in 2020 due to defections.

PH is already set to contend with former premier Mahathir Mohamad's Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, which is contesting 42 seats in the 56-seat state assembly on its own. Like Muda, Pejuang is making its electoral debut in Johor.

Parti Warisan, a multiracial opposition party led by former Sabah chief minister Shafie Apdal, will also contest several seats, making its debut outside of Sabah.

PH fared poorly while PKR did not win a single seat in Melaka and Sarawak state elections last year.

The Johor polls take place on March 12 with around 2.6 million eligible voters.