PN secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan says seat negotiations are almost complete ahead of the Nov 14 Melaka polls, despite uncertainty over its logo.
KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) has almost completed negotiations with its political partners for the upcoming Melaka state election, despite an ongoing legal dispute with the Registrar of Societies (RoS).
PN secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said discussions with coalition partners were progressing alongside internal deliberations on seat allocations and preparations for the polls.
He said the coalition was working to resolve several outstanding issues before finalising its election strategy, particularly uncertainty over whether it would be allowed to contest under its own name and logo.
“We have discussed this internally, including the necessary preparations. We will be together with our partners in the battle for Melaka.
“Progress is almost at 100%,” he told a press conference at Parliament today.
Takiyuddin said PN obtained leave from the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Oct 13 to initiate judicial review proceedings against two actions taken by the RoS.
These involved a show-cause notice issued under Section 13(2) and an order under Section 13(2A) suspending the coalition’s activities.
He said the court was scheduled to hear an inter partes application to stay the suspension order on Oct 22, nine days before nomination day on Oct 31.
Polling for the Melaka state election is scheduled for Nov 14.
Takiyuddin argued that the RoS actions could affect the constitutional rights of more than 600,000 Melaka voters to choose their preferred political parties.
“If PN is not allowed, it would be as though the people of Melaka are being denied their right to make a choice,” he said.
Despite the legal uncertainty, he said all PN component parties remained committed to fielding candidates in the state election, regardless of the outcome of the proceedings.
He also confirmed that seat negotiations would exclude a former political ally that had announced plans to contest independently under its own party logo.
“Seat allocations, seat negotiations and candidate selection have nothing to do with them. We will go our separate ways and work with our own partners in Melaka,” he said.
Asked whether PN had contingency plans if it was prevented from using its logo, Takiyuddin said the coalition had prepared several alternatives.
“The first alternative is, of course, the Perikatan Nasional logo. If that is not possible, there are other alternatives.
“These strategies cannot be revealed. Otherwise, they would become a tragedy instead,” he quipped.