According to Khoo Kay Peng, such an electoral pact could be agreed upon by PAS in states where PKR and PPBM’s Pakatan Harapan ally, DAP does not have a presence.
Khoo said the Islamist party may not have a choice but to make such arrangements as it was not expected to have any pact with Umno.
“A pact with Umno means Umno will need to give up some seats and this is something Umno will not do,” he told FMT.
He added that the Pakatan Harapan parties will continue to collaborate in states with mixed seats, such as Selangor and Penang, among others, which it won in the past two general elections.
“Seats in Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kedah and Negeri Sembilan are mixed and this is where PKR needs DAP to secure its presence.
“Without DAP, PKR will not fare well as it does not have deep grassroots support in those states,” Khoo said.
Khoo’s response followed a report in PAS’ organ, Harakahdaily, yesterday which stated the party’s willingness to work with any opposition party except DAP and Amanah.
PAS’ differences with DAP over hudud law is well-known, while its enmity with Amanah lies in the fact that the party was established by former PAS leaders.
Yesterday, Harakahdaily reported that the Gagasan Sejahtera coalition would cooperate with all parties, except Amanah and DAP.
Gagasan is made up of PAS, Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (Ikatan) and Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa).
The daily quoted PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah as saying: “We’ll even offer to cooperate with PPBM and PKR if they do not like being with Pakatan Harapan any more.”
Meanwhile, PKR vice-president Tian Chua said the party had not closed its doors to PAS altogether.
“We will accept with open arms cooperation with PAS. But this kind of cooperation, we need to do a bit more research,” he told FMT.
Tian Chua, who is Batu MP, said the party will take into consideration any proposal offered by PAS later on.
“We will see first their proposal. We are always open to ideas and suggestions,” he said.