A showdown between DAP and PKR is on the cards in some constituencies as the two opposition parties could not reach a consensus on their seats allocation for the coming general election as a ‘deadline’ expires today.

dap economy forum 260906 lim kit siang DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has expressed his disappointment at the slow progress of the negotiation last week and urged both parties to conclude the talks today.

However, there is no sign of backing off from both parties thus far.

The deadlock of seats allocation in Perak, especially over the 11 parliamentary and state seats in the Kinta Valley, remained the major obstacle and it has delayed talks in other states.

Political pundits have since predicted the general election to be held in early March - March 8 or 9 being possible dates - although the government’s mandate is not due until March 2009.

‘It’s just agonisingly slow’

When contacted, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng however argued the talks with PKR have not collapsed as yet.

"It’s not a collapse, it’s just agonisingly slow. We are waiting and waiting for them to come back to us," he told Malaysiakini when contacted in Kedah where he is on a visit.

"This delay shouldn’t be as the general election is so close," Guan Eng added.

revathi masoosai habeas corpus case 060707 guan eng In a press conference yesterday, Guan Eng claimed that PKR did not treat his party as an equal partner and lashed out at their opposition ally for announcing candidates in seats previously contested by DAP or where the DAP is the incumbent elected representative.

PKR information chief Tian Chua also denied there will be a showdown.

"We are ready to seal the deal amicably," he told Malaysiakini, but said the party maintained its position on the seats negotiation in Perak and awaiting DAP’s response.

PKR has asked for at least three, out of nine, state seats in the Kinta Valley to be contested by the multi-racial party this time but DAP at the same time is eyeing the seats as it believed these Chinese-majority seats will be ‘winnable’ for the party.

The Chinese-majority seats have became a battlefield as opinion polls predicted there will be a swing of Chinese support from the ruling Barisan Nasional to the opposition due to economic and crime factors.

"The problem is only with a few seats and once we can have an agreement on these seats, the problem is settled. We are quite open," Chua added.

So far, DAP and PKR have only reached a consensus in Penang, Pahang and the state seats in Negri Sembilan.

Although there is no consensus in other states yet, the problems - such as the bickering between parties leaders in Sarawak - however are not expected to be as critical as in Perak.

It is believed that talks in these states are held up in order to be used as bargaining chip for the negotiation in Perak as the majority of the ‘overlapping seats’ elsewhere are mixed seats which DAP usually is not seriously keen to contest.

Ipoh Timur ‘not an issue’

While prospect for an amicable solution does not appear to be good, insiders however still cast their hopes on a last-minute ‘give-and-take talks’ between PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and Guan Eng.

But Chua said Anwar will not be involved in the nitty-gritty of the seat talks and that he believed the ex-deputy premier would not give in to the DAP on the latter’s insistence to contest all seats in Kinta Valley.

In expressing his disappointment last week, Kit Siang - the incumbent Ipoh Timur MP - has suggested he was willing to go for a three-cornered fight with PKR and BN candidates in his seat in order to break the current stalemate.

bersih protest constitution amendment 071207 tian chua However, he said DAP and PKR must ensure a straight fight with BN in other seats in Perak.

"If we want to go for a three-corned fight in Ipoh Timur, we would have done so in 2004. The issue therefore does not arise as we won’t challenge seats held by their incumbents," said Chua.

Both DAP and PKR had been at loggerheads over distribution of seats in the past, to the extent of standing against each other in some seats in the last general elections, and allowing an easy ride for BN.

One thorny issue in the DAP-PKR seat talks is the former’s insistence to contest in the Chinese-majority seats, and leaving the Chinese PKR leaders to contest in mixed racial composition seats, which are usually BN stronghold seats.

Going by past experience, the collapse of talks at the eleventh-hour may as well jeopardise the consensus they have reached earlier and will be paving way for a free-for-all battle.

DAP had reportedly said it was eyeing 54 parliamentary and 115 state seats, while PKR was going for 60 parliamentary and 120 state seats.