S'GOR DAP CONFAB | DAP cannot too long for its coalition partners to hammer out a deal to ensure one-on-one fights, said Selangor DAP chief Tony Pua.

He said this is why DAP has insisted on a deadline for such an electoral pact to be finalised, so that its election preparations would not be affected.

He told delegates at Selangor DAP annual convention in Petaling Jaya today that the party supports the idea of having straight fights in the next general election.

This is because the strategy proved effective during the two previous general elections.

He said although DAP cannot trust parties that would backstab its coalition partners, it is willing to give time for its partners who are still willing to negotiate.

"How do we trust a party that is unprincipled, that only wants its bread to be buttered on both sides and wants to use its partners to attain its own selfish interests?" he said.

'Backstabbing may haunt us later'

He said there is no point in winning an election after agreeing to a one-to-one fight, only to be backstabbed afterwards.

"However, DAP understands the importance of one-to-one fights in the general elections. That’s why we agreed to give time to those who still want to negotiate with that party...

"(But) we cannot negotiate until the day before the election because this would only weaken Pakatan Harapan’s preparations for the election.

"If an agreement cannot be achieved, that it should be made known early so that we can get ready and strengthen ourselves to face elections - whether it is one-to-one, or three-corner fights.

"We have to move on," he added, without naming any of those parties he mentioned.

He said the Pakatan Harapan convention yesterday had agreed that it would fix a deadline for the negotiations.

Pua appeared to be referring to PAS in his speech - which DAP had repeatedly accused of betrayal in the past - and PKR, which is still negotiating a Pakatan Harapan-PAS electoral pact for the next general election.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, which is planning to join Pakatan Harapan, was also in talks with PAS.

Tough position for Azmin

Meanwhile at the sidelines of the convention, reporters asked Selangor PKR chief Mohd Azmin Ali whether there is a timeframe for the negotiations with PAS.

He curtly replied, "As soon as possible".

Azmin had been negotiating an electoral pact with PAS, not only for the upcoming general election but also the Sungai Besar by-election and Kuala Kangsar by-election in June, to no avail.

He had conceded yesterday that negotiations had been tough and needed more time.

Meanwhile, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang told delegates that there must be only be one opposition manifesto in the upcoming general election, and proposed that the theme should be "Democracy versus kleptocracy".

He lamented that while countries around the world - particularly Singapore - are cracking down on the 1MDB scandal, Malaysia appears to be doing nothing about it and has gained infamy on the world stage.

Instead, Malaysia had refused Switzerland’s requests for mutual legal assistance (MLA) on the 1MDB issue, he said.

"(There should be a clear-cut manifesto) whether we want a democracy or a kleptocracy; whether people will elect democrats, or whether they will elect kleptocrats," Lim said.

The Attorney-General's Chambers had reported denied deliberately frustrating the Swiss investigation, saying that they could not reply as it may prejudice an ongoing police investigation on 1MDB.