PH needs 80% voter turnout to stand chance in NS, says coalition leader

 The leader says Malay votes are unlikely to shift to Pakatan Harapan despite Perikatan Nasional’s internal problems.

In the current electoral landscape, even a high-profile candidate like DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook (seated, centre) is not safe, says a Pakatan Harapan leader.

SEREMBAN:

Pakatan Harapan will need a voter turnout of at least 80% to stand a fair chance in the Negeri Sembilan state election, says a coalition leader, warning that the electoral landscape has changed significantly since the last polls.

The leader, who asked not to be named, said PH’s strong showing in the previous state election was largely due to its cooperation with Barisan Nasional, which helped the coalition secure many seats.

“The results in the last state election were largely because we joined forces with BN. That helped us win many seats,” he told FMT.

He said the situation had changed following BN’s electoral understanding with Perikatan Nasional, with PH expected to lose support among Malay voters.

“It is not the same now. Malay votes will go to BN and PN. Even if Malays are unhappy with the infighting in PN, they will still vote for BN. PN’s votes will not transfer to PH,” he said.

The leader also said PH faces an uphill battle to win over the younger Malay voters as PAS continues to wield strong influence over the demographic.

“Young Malays are still strongly on PN’s side because of PAS. They are still inclined towards religious sentiment because they do not like elitist politics,” he said.

He said even constituencies held by senior PH leaders could not be considered safe under the new electoral landscape.

“If you look at the numbers, even a high-profile candidate like (DAP secretary-general) Loke Siew Fook is not safe. His majority was more than 2,000 votes under the previous electoral arrangement when PH was working with BN.

“On paper, it looked like a comfortable win, but that was under a different political arrangement,” he said, adding that the numbers show why turnout was important.

“We need our supporters to come out because we can no longer depend on the electoral dynamics of the last state election,” he said.

BN and PN have reached an electoral understanding for the Negeri Sembilan election, under which BN is contesting 25 seats and PN 11. PH is fielding candidates in all 36 state seats.

Polling for the Negeri Sembilan election is on Aug 1. - FMT