KUCHING, Sept 29: The next state election is still slightly more than two years to go, but state Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) launched its party machinery today.
Its deputy president, Datuk Salahudin Ayub, said the party’s focus was to ensure Pakatan Harapan (PH) topple Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and take over Sarawak.
“Sarawak’s 12th state election is not too far away; hence, we must prepare early by strategising ourselves. We are talking about winning power at the state level. Therefore, we must make early preparations, as proven in the last general election,” Salahudin said today.
He added that the party had learnt many lessons from the May 9 general election, and one of them is to prepare early to identify themselves with the voters.
As a new party, Salahudin reckoned that Amanah must work closely with their PH alliance, namely Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Based on the arrangement for the 11th state election, Salahudin said Amanah would contest in 13 constituencies.
Although Amanah is claiming the 13 seats it previously contested, he did not foresee any problems should there be a need to further negotiate the seats with the DAP and PKR.
Meanwhile, Lumut MP Mohd Hatta Mohd Ramli, who was also at the event, said winning in the Sarawak state election was a hurdle and seemed impossible previously.
“However, we are the front-runner in this coming state election simply because we are part of the federal government now. So make sure we prepare early. If we lose, it is our own mistake, especially when we are in a better position now. The people have accepted us and believe in PH,” Hatta said.
But he reminded party members that election could not be won by just having good candidates or money but without early preparation.
Hatta also assured the state party that they are given full autonomy to pick their own candidates, while the federal counterpart will just observe and support. — DayakDaily
