S'WAK POLLS Despite the refusal of both Sarawak PKR and DAP to back down from contesting in six disputed seats in the Sarawak state election, PKR said it has chosen to move on and focus on the state polls.

"I am choosing not to focus on this (the clash). I am choosing to move on," PKR vice-president and election director Nurul Izzah Anwar said at a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

However, Nurul Izzah skirted around the issue of who was responsible for causing the seat dispute.

Without elaborating, she gave her pledge that the party would deal with the matter after the May 7 Sarawak election.

"We will certainly handle what needs to be handled after May 7," she said.

Nurul Izzah, who is also Pantai MP, is confident the tussle in Sarawak would not spill over into Peninsular Malaysia, where she said the ties among the Pakatan Harapan allies are stronger.

She believed that the relationship between partners Pakatan Harapan will not be affected as the allies will be able to put aside the incident.

Notably, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail did not appear at the press conference as stated in the notice to the press.

The others present were PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli, vice-president Tian Chua, Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin, Penang PKR chairperson Othman Mansor and party communications director Fahmi Fadzil.

Both parties refused to back down

Party deputy president Azmin Ali had allowed the state to engage in multi-cornered fights with DAP in five seats, namely Mulu, Murum, Ngemah, Simanggang and Mambong.

With this, DAP retaliated by contesting in Batu Kitang.

Both parties refused to back down and they have not been campaigning for each other in the past four days since nomination on April 25.

Azmin had claimed on Monday that he received the party president's written mandate to authorise state PKR to contest in the five seats.

Wan Azizah has yet to respond on the matter.

Meanwhile, Zuraida said the state polls should be a referendum on the goods and services tax (GST).

She then claimed that the federal government will increase the GST to 10 percent in 2017.

GST, which has caused prices of many goods to increase, is the opposition's main propaganda issue in the ongoing election.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had brushed off claims that the government will increase GST to 10 percent after the state polls.