KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) has said it will contest less than 10 per cent of the 245 state assembly seats up for grabs in the coming polls.
Party president Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman said the decision is based on the party’s capabilities at present, including financial means to contest all available seats, acknowledging that Muda will face an “extraordinary challenge” in terms of funds.
“I admit this is an extraordinary challenge. To expect us to contest all 245 seats is impossible.
“Even if we could, I do not wish for that because we do not have the ability to do so and what we want is to ensure that our candidates are good and not fielding them for the sake of it.
“The reality is that we will contest less than 10 per cent of the overall seats,” he was quoted as saying by Malay daily Sinar Harian during a ‘live’ interview session hosted by the news platform yesterday.
Syed Saddiq said the primary focus of Muda in the upcoming state polls would be to send a clear message to those in power not to be complacent and discard their principles in struggling for reforms for the sake of power.
He said the party also wished to prove it could still perform its duties even with newcomers and financial constraints.
Muda had on June 26 announced that it would go solo in the six state polls and have its candidates contest under its own logo after accusing the Pakatan Harapan-led (PH) government of snubbing it.
Muda applied to join the PH coalition prior to the 15th general election last November but has yet to be accepted as a formal member.
Muda is part of the unity government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership.
DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang had on June 27 urged the political party not to be too hasty and to cooperate with Anwar’s unity government in the impending elections.
On June 28, Syed Saddiq responded to Lim by saying that Muda was not unwilling to cooperate with Anwar, but that Muda’s leadership was “left hanging” after it sent three letters asking for a meeting.
“However, not only were we left hanging, but we were even ridiculed when the secretary-general of Pakatan Harapan who responded by saying that he had no time to read our letters. This was despite the fact that his office initially agreed to a date beforehand but cancelled once again at the last-minute,” Syed Saddiq had said.
Syed Saddiq said Muda merely wanted to meet to propose a way forward for Malaysia, but that there was no response received after his own multiple attempts to reach out to Anwar and his officers.
