VIDEO | 3.45 min

Despite protests from voters in his parliament seat in Permatang Pauh and sentimental attachments to his hometown, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is adamant that he will move to contest in Perak.

“I have declared my intention to contest in Perak,” he said at a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

permatang pauh by election results map 260808 However, he admit that he will have to do some damage control in his hometown first.

“I will have to go back to Permatang Pauh tomorrow to appease my voters,” he said, explaining that there have been vocal protests to his decision.

Anwar said that some have complained that while they have stood by him and wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail when they were at their lowest in 1999 and lost all seats, except for Permatang Pauh, now that they are strong and with Putrajaya in sight, it seems he is abandoning them.

“My intention is to strengthen our position in Perak and not to disrespect the loyal support of my Permatang Pauh friends,” said Anwar.

Asked what would he do if his voters refuse to let him go, he is confident that he can engage with them and explain to his supporters why this is important.

“They can be persuaded,” he said.

But he was unable to name the seat he is going to contest in as Pakatan will only finalise seat negotiatons tomorrow and the PKR candidates list will be ready as early as Friday.

Anwar had earlier announced that he may not contest in Permatang Pauh and might move to Perak, as part of Pakatan’s strategy to recapture the former tin-mining centre of Malaysia.

Other than Anwar, several senior Pakatan leaders from PAS and DAP are also leaving their traditional seats to spearhead the Pakatan foray into BN-held Johor.