PAS says time to move forward after Johor seat talks with Umno, Parti Wawasan stall

MUAR, June 25 — PAS is looking ahead and does not want to prolong the issue of seat distribution involving the party, Parti Wawasan Negara (Wawasan) and Umno ahead of the upcoming Johor state election, its vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said.

He said it was important for PAS to move forward rather than dwell on the matter.

“What is important now is how do we move forward from today. That is more important because the challenges ahead are much bigger,” he told reporters after the announcement of PAS candidates for the Johor state election at Laman Muafakat here last night.

Also present were Perikatan Nasional (PN) information chief and Johor state election director Tan Sri Annuar Musa, and Johor PAS commissioner Datuk Mahfodz Mohamed.

Ahmad Samsuri also denied that discussions between several political parties yesterday had not gone as planned.

He said such meetings and negotiations were common in politics.

“Anything can happen in politics. What some see as a failure, may actually turn out to be favourable,” he said.

On Wednesday, the announcement of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates for the Johor state election in Johor Bahru was postponed several times.

The delay was believed to have been caused by stalled seat distribution talks involving several political parties, including PAS, Wawasan and Umno.

However, Johor BN later announced that it would not collaborate with any political parties, dismissing earlier speculation of an electoral pact involving Umno, PAS and Wawasan.

The Election Commission (EC) has set July 11 as polling day for the Johor state election, with nomination on June 27 and early voting on July 7.