Amanah will contest 13 seats in the upcoming Sarawak state elections.

Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub said they have already held discussions with their Pakatan Harapan partners about this.

"We have already begun to prepare for the 13 seats, we have identified the candidates, and we will mobilise our national machinery to the seats," Salahuddin said at a press conference at the Amanah headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

He did not reveal where the seats were, but said it would be a mix of urban and rural seats.

Salahuddin said all candidates are also Sarawakians.

Amanah's plan to contest 13 seats is more ambitious than its progenitor PAS, which had planned to contest in just 11 seats.

Amanah, which was only formed last year, has 1,500 members in the state.

Its relative youth in both Sarawak and the national political scene may be a problem, especially since some of its more recognisable faces may not be able to get into Sarawak.

Ban list

So far only Amanah president Mohamad Sabu has been confirmed as being on the ban list after he was deported from the state two weeks ago.

Salahuddin however said they have sent a letter to Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem's office to appeal the ban.

Meanwhile on whether it will clash with PAS, Amanah information chief Khalid Samad said this may be a possibility.

"We want to fight BN, not PAS. But if PAS gets in the way, we will be forced to face them," Khalid said.

Meanwhile Amanah today also launched their bi-weekly self-titled official party paper.

The paper is not run by the party itself, and is outsourced to Dateline Media Group, which also runs a pro-Amanah news portal.