KOTA KINABALU, 21 Nov 2008: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is confident of uniting the main opposition political parties in Sabah and Sarawak to field a single candidate against the Barisan Nasional (BN) in all constituencies in the next general election.
The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor said such a formula, mooted by the PKR, DAP and PAS in Peninsular Malaysia, had proven to be highly successful to the opposition front in the last general election on 8 March 2008.
“In Sabah and Sarawak, there were candidates (from the opposition front) who were contesting against one another that resulted in a split in the votes for the opposition…this is what we want to avoid,” he told reporters after opening a service centre for the Kota Kinabalu constituency in Jalan Damai, Luyang, near here today.
Asked whether he would invite the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), which left the BN recently, to join the Pakatan Rakyat, Anwar said this was being done and confirmed that he had met with SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee today.
On preparations for the by-election for the Pensiangan parliamentary constituency, Anwar said the PKR would definitely field a candidate if a by-election were to be held for the constituency. — Bernama
