PAS MUKTAMAR | PAS is seeking to contest 80 parliamentary seats for the upcoming 15th general election (GE15), half the number it had gone for as leader of the former Gagasan Sejahtera pact in 2018.

PAS election chief Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the exact areas are still being evaluated with possible changes due to the performance of the local machinery.

"PAS is targeting 80 seats, half the number from GE14.

"Of the 80 seats, the election committee is analysing which divisions have met their targets, while those that did not will be dropped and replaced with another division," said the Kedah menteri besar in his winding-up speech.

Sanusi reiterated PAS' commitment to winning at least 40 parliamentary seats, the minimum number needed to deny one single party the ability to form a federal government without PAS.

He said even with its current 17 MPs, PAS in the Perikatan Nasional government has three ministers and eight deputy ministers, and so they would be able to have more influence with 40 seats.

Met by reporters, Sanusi cited limited resources and an increasing number of voters as among the factors taken into consideration in reducing the number of contested seats.

"We don't need to contest in 155 seats, focus on 80... our funds are with our members.

"We don't have millionaires, so we focus on the 80 seats that we will determine," he added.

'Don't boycott candidates'

In his speech, Sanusi reminded delegates that the candidates, once selected, can no longer be changed, including through any "lobbying" efforts.

"To be the best politician, leaders and members will not boycott the party. They will carry out whatever decisions are made by the central leaders.

"Usually there will be a group of 'visitors' to Rusila, Jalan Raja Laut, even Alor Setar... anyone who comes here will get a whacking," Sanusi quipped, in reference to the residence of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and his office respectively.

The 68th PAS Muktamar will end today with winding-up speeches from various wing chiefs and central leaders.

Reporting by Alyaa Alhadjri, N Faizal Ghazali, Low Choon Chyuan

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