Rumblings among the parties

PETALING JAYA: With five days to go before nomination day for the six state elections, there is already discontent brewing among political parties.

The rumblings are due to a tug of war between political parties of the same alliance over certain seats and whether to announce mentri besar candidates.

However, political scientists say this is to be expected at this stage of the elections and that in the coming days, the top leaders of the coalitions are expected to negotiate and reach compromises among the parties.

So far, there are already two potential conflict points between allies in the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan faction after candidate announcements were made over the past two days.

Former rivals Barisan and Pakatan are now allies in the state elections as well as in the unity government at the federal level.

It was reported on Saturday that members from Amanah, a Pakatan party, are upset that Barisan wants to field a candidate in the Lenggeng seat in Negri Sembilan, which Amanah won in 2018.

Amanah is also reportedly asking to field candidates in Terengganu’s Bandar and Tepuh seats which Barisan has claimed.

Meanwhile, PKR, another Pakatan party, said it wants to retain Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun as Mentri Besar in Negri Sembilan if the coalition is able to defend the state.

This is despite the fact that Barisan has said that the post should only be decided after the elections.

Barisan has announced that it will be fielding 107 candidates in the 245 state seats to be contested in the Aug 12 elections in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan.

From Pakatan, PKR announced that it is contesting 58 seats while Amanah is fielding candidates in 31 seats and asking for two more. Their partner, DAP, is expected to unveil its candidates in stages over the next few days.

As at press time, it has only done so for its candidates in Negri Sembilan while the list for Penang will be announced tomorrow.

A former Pakatan ally, Muda, is contesting 20 seats on their own and will face Pakatan in five seats in Selangor – Kota Anggerik, Seri Setia, Sungai Kandis, Bukit Antarabangsa and Sentosa – and three seats in Penang, which are Batu Uban, Perai and Pantai Jerejak.

The Opposition coalition, Perikatan Nasional, has announced the seat distribution among its component parties, with PAS contesting 126 seats, Bersatu 83 and Gerakan 36. However, it has yet to unveil its list of candidates.

Political scientist Dr Mazlan Ali said unhappiness among political partners at this stage is to be expected as grassroots members would always make demands on their leaders.

“This tug of war over seats is always about political mileage and survival,” he said, referring to the Lenggeng seat that Umno now wants back after it was wrested from it by Amanah in the 2018 election.

“At the end of the day, the top leaders will make a final decision whenever there are disagreements – as they have done in past elections,” said Mazlan from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

PKR communications director Lee Chean Chung said he is not worried about overlapping seats or internal sabotage, saying that the party had resolved all seat issues with its allies in the unity government.

“We have allocated seats based on each other’s strengths. We have so many things that we want to do and achieve and so, we have prepared enough space for everyone to contribute, either by being candidates or in other roles,” he said.

Another political scientist, Prof James Chin, echoed these points, saying that he does not expect to see these disagreements affecting the parties’ ability to campaign during the elections.

“These (disagreements) will be ironed out before nomination day. Local warlords who are unhappy about not being fielded will jump to the other side or stand as independents. But their numbers will be very small,” said Prof Chin of University of Tasmania.

What is more important in the polls, Prof Chin said, is whether a third force can emerge to challenge the dominance of Barisan-Pakatan and Perikatan as the battle lines are very clear.

“In the 15th General Election (last year), Pejuang tried to do this but it did not work.

“Muda is now trying to be a third force, but it is targeting Pakatan seats.

“This to me is more interesting than the scramble over seats,” he added.  ANN

Former Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar has ridiculed the party leadership for contesting only 12 seats in the upcoming Selangor state polls.

Speaking at a Perikatan Nasional event in Tanjong Karang last night, he said Umno would have fared better if the party had not sided with Pakatan Harapan.

“PN is good. If we (PN and Umno) were to share the seats in Selangor, Umno would have gotten at least 20, and then some for Bersatu and PAS.

“And in the event that we win Selangor, surely Umno would get the menteri besar post, because Umno has 20 seats.

“But sadly, Umno is in such a sorry state today that it could only get 12 to contest. Umno is no longer a party the Malays can depend on,” Noh said during the launch of Sungai Burong and Permatang PN election machinery.

He was referring to the distribution of seats in Selangor between Umno and its ally Harapan, which saw the former allocated 12 seats to contest in the state election while Harapan got 44.

The Selangor state legislative assembly has a total of 56 seats.

Noh was sacked from Umno in January following a fallout with its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and had since joined PN.

The former Tanjong Karang MP also chastised the Umno leadership for surrendering its Hulu Bernam seat in Selangor to Harapan.

According to Noh, Hulu Bernam is an Umno stronghold and the party has never been defeated there.

He blamed Zahid for the decision, claiming the party president was “sinking his own ship”.

“How could Umno give the seat to Harapan? Where has Umno’s dignity gone?

“You see DAP, when Harapan decided to give its Dusun Tua seat to Umno, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke immediately complained.

“Why is Umno keeping quiet?” Noh said.

Umno used to work together with PAS under the Muafakat Nasional banner, before the latter invited Bersatu to join them.

Umno later abandoned its cooperation with PAS and Bersatu, which had formed PN as a formal coalition, before going into the 15th general election solo last year.

However, following its dismal performance in the national polls, Umno and its BN coalition agreed to form a unity government with Harapan under the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim.  MKINI

State polls: Don’t underestimate challenges facing PH-BN, says Tok Mat

KUALA LUMPUR: The challenges that await Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) at the upcoming state elections in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu should not be underestimated by anyone, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairman said although they are confident of retaining the states currently under Pakatan, namely Selangor, Penang, and Negri Sembilan through BN’s cooperation, today’s political dynamics demand that all parties work hard to ensure victory.

Using the analogy of a football match that features different strategies for different matches, Mohamad, who is also Umno deputy president, said the same thing also happens in politics which requires a different approach.

“During the 15th General Election (GE15), the approach and strategy were different, and in these six state elections, we need yet another different approach because the challenges are also different.

“In Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan, we may not have a problem to retain power. In Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, however, although we have a chance to win, we have to work harder to succeed, or at least increase the number of our seats there,” he told Bernama here.

Mohamad, who is also Defence Minister, also called on all parties to campaign maturely and avoid engaging in unhealthy politics throughout the campaign period.

“If, during the campaign, we keep exposing all our weaknesses, it is feared that potential foreign investors would become hesitant to do so. We need those investments to create more job opportunities and help boost the country’s economy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohamad, who will be fielded as a BN candidate for his old Rantau seat in Negri Sembilan, said the fact that he was the elected representative for the Rantau constituency for four terms since 2004, was not a ticket for him to be comfortable.

“Each election has its own challenges, I cannot take it lightly, I still have to work hard to ensure victory,” the former Negri Sembilan mentri besar said.

The Election Commission has set the state elections in the six states to be held simultaneously with the Kuala Terengganu by-election on Aug 12, with nomination set on July 29 and early voting on Aug 8. – Bernama

ANN  / MKINI / BERNAMA

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