KANGAR: Perlis Barisan Nasional (BN) is aiming to make a clean sweep by capturing all 15 state and three Parliament seats in the 15th general election, said its chairman Datuk Seri Azlan Man.
"Some are our traditional areas that we have (contested) in the previous general election. There is also a well-known traditional seat where we saw defeat in GE14 because of a certain issue and we are determined to recapture the seat that we lost," he said when contacted today.
Azlan said he was confident the coalition could recapture the seats it lost in GE15.
Meanwhile, acting Perlis Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chief Abu Bakar Hamzah said the party's political and election bureau had just last week issued a directive to determine seats to be contested.
"We are currently determining the seats because we need to see the feedback not only from Bersatu but also on the Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket. We also have to talk to Pas.
"We have to wait for the PN central leadership meeting to determine the seats in Perlis, in particular. Meanwhile, the preparation in that direction (GE15) is ongoing.
"We have some seats that we would love to contest but (will be based on) the allocation (of seats) in PN. If out of the 15 (state) constituencies in Perlis, Pas wants eight seats, then we will only contest for seven seats and so on, vice versa.
Abu Bakar said based on resolutions adopted by PN before this, the division of parliamentary seats in Perlis will see two seats allocated to Bersatu and one for Pas.
"This, based on the previous PN coordinating meeting, will see the Arau seat allocated to Pas while Kangar and Padang Besar will be set aside for Bersatu.
"That's why I told you that if we (Bersatu) took two parliamentary seats to contest, then we would have to take only seven state seats to be contested, giving Pas an opportunity for the remaining eight other seats. This is 'give-and-take' as agreed upon by Perlis PN," he said.
In GE14, Perlis BN won 10 of the 15 state seats, specifically Bintong, Kayang, Tambun Tulang, Simpang Empat, Pauh, Mata Ayer, Chuping, Santan, Beseri and Titi Tinggi.
Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan (PH) won three state seats (Kuala Perlis, Indera Kayangan and Sena), whereas Pas won the Sanglang and Guar Sanji state seats.
Perlis BN also won two of the three parliamentary seats (Arau and Padang Besar), while PH won the Kangar parliamentary seat.