GE13 WATCH There appears to be a strong possibility of former Perak PAS deputy chief and ex-menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin going for the Changkat Jering state seat instead of defending his Pasir Panjang incumbency.

azlan Nizar's candidacy for Changkat Jering, now represented by PKR,was first announced on Monday by Perak PAS chief Abu Bakar Hassain, but Malaysiakini has since learnt  that this is not set in stone.

PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali said that the Pakatan Rakyat national leadership had agreed in principle to the move.

"PKR has agreed to make way, on condition that Nizar is the candidate," Mustafa said when contacted yesterday, but refused to confirm if PAS and PKR were swapping seats.

PKR vice-president Tian Chua confirmed that his party was willing to cede Changkat Jering to boost Pakatan's chances of retaining the seat, but stressed that negotiations are ongoing.

"We are willing to give away (Changkat Jering) for Nizar, but (we) want to exchange this seat for another seat (with PAS)," he said.

He said that PKR believes that Nizar's position as a former chief executive of the state would help Pakatan retain Changkat Jering.

PAS wants Bagan Serai, too

Apart from Changkat Jering, Perak PAS is also eyeing the Bagan Serai parliamentary seat.

nizar interview parliament 261009 Both were won by PKR in 2008, but both elected representatives had turned independent, supporting the BN.

Changkat Jering is one of three state seats within the Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency, which Nizar ( left ) won in a by-election in 2009.

The party's most important institution in the state, the Markaz Tarbiyyah Negeri, is also located there.

Perak PAS election director Asmuni Awi said Nizar had been notified of the party's position and agreed to this during a recent political bureau meeting.

"Since (PKR de facto leader) Anwar (Ibrahim) had announced that Bagan Serai will be contested by PKR, so we also announced that Changkat Jering will be contested by Nizar," he said.

NONE Two days before Abu Bakar announced Nizar as the Changkat Jering candidate, Anwar had named Perak PKR chief Muhammad Nur Manuty ( right ) as their candidate for Bagan Serai.

Asmuni said that PAS does not want to prolong the seat negotiations since the general election is looming.

He added that Pakatan components must start their groundwork in each constituency as soon as possible.

He added that Nizar, as the incumbent MP for Bukit Gantang, has an inherent advantage in Changkat Jering.

As for Pasir Panjang, Asmuni said PAS has identified a female candidate for the seat and that her candidacy was "most likely" to be confirmed.

PKR grassroots not happy

However, PAS' Bagan Serai and Changkat Jering ambitions has ruffled the feathers of PKR grassroots, who regard their aggressive posturing as unfriendly.

NONE Perak PKR vice-chairperson Chang Lih Kang ( left ) said that PAS should not have made Nizar's candidacy for Changkat Jering public so early in midst of negotiations.

"We hope all Pakatan component parties can refrain from making unilateral announcement like this to foster stronger cooperation among three parties," said Chang when contacted.

He said the so-called exchange of Changkat Jering and Bagan Serai proposed by PAS was never raised at the state-level seat negotiations.

"This is only their wishful thinking," he added.

He said PKR stands to lose if PAS gets its wishes because the former took both both seats in the last polls.

Nevertheless, he is confident that the Perak PKR will respect the final decision arrived at by the Pakatan national leadership.