KUALA LUMPUR: Pro-Pakatan Rakyat movement Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa) will send a group of volunteers to support the opposition coalition’s candidate in next month’s Permatang Pauh by-election, its Selangor branch said. PasMa Selangor deputy chairman Mohamad Abdul Rahman said the team, to be coordinated by Shakimin Mohd Zain, will be launched during the PasMa Selangor and Federal Territories (FT) convention on Sunday.

“During the convention, we will launch a squad from PasMa Selangor and Federal Territories to help in the Permatang Pauh by-election,” he told a press conference yesterday.

He said support for the Rompin by-election would probably be handled by PasMa in other states nearer to the area, as was decided by the PasMa central leadership.

On Tuesday, the youth wings of DAP and PAS were reconciled to support Pakatan’s campaign in Permatang Pauh.

Penang DAP Socialist Youth chief Ng Wei Aik said they are ready to set aside their differences with PAS in the interest of the Permatang Pauh by-election, where PKR is defending the parliamentary seat.

He said the move is necessary to support the Pakatan campaign, and it does not mean both sides would renew their cooperation.

The relationship between the two youth wings was disrupted after the Kelantan government passed its hudud bill to amend the Syariah Criminal Code II Enactment last month.

Meanwhile, Mohamad said that PasMa president Datuk Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi had met with the Pakatan parties to discuss further plans to establish Pakatan as a registered coalition. He said among their biggest tasks is to ensure Pakatan is registered as a coalition that will have its own logo and organisation committee. He said the response from PKR and DAP had been good.

“Response from the parties is good ... there is no problem with PKR and DAP. It is just that PasMa seems to be something PAS is afraid of,” he said, adding that further elaboration would have to come from the PasMa president.

On the upcoming convention, Mohamad said about 200 people are expected to attend the first convention at the Selangor and FT level, with representatives from PKR, DAP and PAS expected to join the forum. “The panellists are Batu MP Chua Tian Chang (Tian Chua), Hulu Kelang assemblyman Saari Sungib and Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran,” he said. With the theme “Strengthening Pakatan Rakyat”, the convention is part of a series of state-level meetings before PasMa holds its major convention at the end of May. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 23, 2015.