“Traditional Umno voters are quite apprehensive about voting for a PH candidate, especially from DAP, so 51 seats are too lofty (a target),” he said.

Political analysts Azmi Hassan (left) and Mazlan Ali believe PH and BN will form the next Selangor government, but say PN will gain ground in Malay majority areas.

Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said the green wave in Selangor can be seen in Malay majority areas like Hulu Selangor, Sabak Bernam and Tanjung Karang.

“Basically, traditional Malay seats are aligning towards PN,” he said.

However, Mazlan said the demography in Selangor includes many mixed-race seats, which give an advantage to PH.

“I am confident the status quo in Selangor will remain, with PH along with the help of BN (forming the next state government), but to say 51 seats is too high because we can’t underestimate PN.”

Mazlan said issues raised by PN appear to have gained support among the Malays, raising the possibility that the coalition may win 15 seats.

On Sunday, Selangor PH election director Yahya Mat Sahri said the coalition’s confidence is based on the state government’s excellent track record of developing Selangor.

He said voters could see that the PH-led Selangor government has reached out to the people through multiple initiatives which have benefited them, including the Darul Ehsan water scheme, free insurance coverage, a takaful scheme, and a senior citizens scheme.

“In addition, the cooperation between PH and BN is also able to further strengthen the people’s confidence in the unity government as well as draw more votes,” he said.

PH won 51 of the 56 seats at stake in the previous election in 2018. BN won four seats and PAS one.

Selangor is one of six states that will hold state assembly elections soon. The others are Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan and Penang.  FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) is ready to form the governments in six states, and has even agreed on how their administrative posts will be allocated among its component parties, says coalition chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin said PN, which is contesting all the 245 seats up for grabs in the coming state elections, was keen to avoid bickering over positions should it win and form the state governments in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

“After we concluded seat negotiations, we started to discuss forming the government (in all the states). We are one step ahead,” he told FMT in an interview.

“We planned it this way because we wanted to show we are truly united.”

Earlier this week, PN announced that it had concluded seat negotiations for the six state elections.

It also confirmed that the candidates for menteri besar in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan will come from Bersatu, while PAS will assume the top post in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

On a possible backlash arising from the appointment of politicians to GLCs, Muhyiddin said the unity government has done the same.

“If there are political leaders with the calibre who are not holding any other position and are qualified for that (GLC) position, what is wrong with it? It doesn’t mean that the post should only be for corporate figures,” he said.

Selangor vital for PN

While all six states were important to PN, Muhyiddin said, it was critical that the coalition wins Selangor, the country’s richest state.

“Selangor is important. It is the most developed state, not just now, but it has been for a long time. It contributes 24.8% of the national gross domestic product, which translates to around RM300 billion.

“We know this. That’s why we want to take over its administration, but we know it will not be easy. If you asked me two to three years ago whether we can take over Selangor, I would have said ‘we will try’.

“Now, I would say ‘God willing’, because there has been a change in the political landscape after the general election.

“It is the people’s wave, not a green wave. It has caused many Umno seats to fall, and we have taken over many seats with a strong majority.”