JOHOR BARU: PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasir plans to contest in the party's upcoming election but will only disclose the post he is vying for next month.

       The Johor Baru MP said it was still too early to make an official announcement as party members have until April 8 before nominations close.

       “My priority (in) the party’s election is to prepare for the 15th General Election (GE15)," he said on Tuesday (March 29) after witnessing an MOU signing between Green Earth Society Johor and SOFtronix Sdn Bhd here.

       He said PKR needed to strengthen its position to regain support from the people in GE15.

       The 36-year-old said the party needed to focus on bread-and-butter issues in GE15 as the majority of Malaysians were badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic for the past two years.

       After GE14 in May 2018, PKR had 50 MPs in the former Pakatan Harapan government, followed by DAP with 42 MPs, Parti Amanah Negara with 11 and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) with six.

       The “Sheraton Move” in February 2020 saw the exit of Bersatu from Pakatan and 11 MPs from PKR, resulting in the collapse of the Pakatan government.

       The “Sheraton Move” in February 2020 saw the exit of Bersatu and 11 MPs from PKR, resulting in the collapse of the Pakatan government.

       In the following months, several MPs announced their resignation from PKR, among them Dr Xavier Jayakumar (Kuala Langat), Larry Sng (Julau), Steven Choong (Tebrau) and Jugah Muyang (Lubok Antu).

       At present, PKR only has 35 MPs.

       The PKR election for the 2022-2025 term will take place from May 13 to 19.

       On the opening of the Johor Causeway on April 1, Akmal said both the Malaysia and Singapore governments should give their assurance to people in either country that the move was not a short-term measure.

       “We hope the border will not be closed again in the event of a surge in Covid-19 cases on either side of the Causeway," he said.

       Akmal expected hiccups with the reopening of borders between Malaysia and Singapore, and said the authorities should make travel easy for people from both countries.

       “All parties can play a significant role to build travellers and tourists' confidence in making Malaysia and Singapore their first choice," he said.