Terengganu PH chairman Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad said the opposition coalition would accept Ahmad if he really wanted to fight to topple the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
“We can’t make any big or extraordinary offer, so it’s up to the individual whether to accept it or not,” said Raja Bahrin, who added that he often met with Ahmad to talk about “usual matters”.
Ahmad was pressured to quit as menteri besar in 2014, one year after the 13th general election, and was replaced by Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman of Umno.
Besides facing Umno, PH expects to take on PAS as well in Terengganu in the coming polls. Terengganu is the stronghold of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.
However, Raja Bahrin said PH was prepared for three-cornered fights in the state.
“We will contest all 32 state and eight parliamentary seats in Terengganu,” he told FMT.
“We have already agreed on the distribution of more than 50% of the seats among PH members.
“We are focusing on the urban seats, such as Kuala Terengganu, Dungun (PAS-Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli), Kemaman (BN-Ahmad Shaberi Cheek) and Kuala Nerus (PAS-Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali), where the voters are very well-informed,” he said.
Asked on PH’s chances in Terengganu, he said PH de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad were strong factors likely to contribute to the coalition’s victory.
“We are confident of springing a surprise in Terengganu. We can win at least 16 seats,” he said.
At present, Umno has 17 state seats to 14 by PAS and one by PKR. At the parliamentary level, PAS and Umno have four seats each and Amanah, one.