BN will be of no help in PAS’s quest to win Selangor, says analyst

 Azmi Hassan says BN will not be able to replace Bersatu and the role that the party played in helping PN make inroads in the last state election.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the electoral agreement with PN would be extended for the Melaka state election.

PETALING JAYA:

An analyst believes Barisan Nasional (BN) will be of no help in PAS’s quest to wrest Selangor from Pakatan Harapan (PH), saying the Islamic party will need a formidable ally to realise such ambitions.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said BN would not be able to replace Bersatu and the role the party played in helping Perikatan Nasional (PN) make inroads in the last state election.

He said the gains made by PN in the Selangor election were due to Bersatu’s Azmin Ali, whom he said is “synonymous” with the state’s politics.

PN’s lynchpin, PAS, severed ties with Bersatu in June citing a strained relationship.

Azmi said the former Selangor menteri besar was an influential figure in the run-up to the polls three years ago that saw the unity government denied a two-thirds majority after PN won 22 seats.

“PAS may want to work with BN, but its (BN’s) influence is rather limited,” he told FMT, referring to the two seats BN won out of the 12 contested, with the coalition’s chairman of the state chapter Megat Zulkarnain Omardin losing in Gombak Setia.

PN and BN reached an understanding not to contest against each other in the Negeri Sembilan polls, which saw the alliance secure a two-thirds majority to end PH’s hold on the state government after two terms.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi subsequently said the electoral agreement with PN would be extended for the Melaka state election.

Last week, PN election director Sanusi Nor said PAS wanted to make the Selangor election the “starting point” of its goal to oust PH from Putrajaya.

Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said with Bersatu out of the picture, PAS would find it difficult to win seats in Selangor.

Mazlan said while the Bersatu-PAS combo had worked in Selangor, the BN-PN alliance had yet to be tested.

He also noted that the seat in Dusun Tua, one of the two constituencies won by Umno, was previously held by DAP.

“The alliance between BN and PN will be tested during seat negotiations,” he said.

Mazlan also said PN could not disregard Bersatu’s strength in Selangor.

“The PAS-Bersatu break-up will spur Bersatu leaders to work harder to check PAS’s momentum.”

Selangor’s next election is due by Nov 18, 2028, unless the state assembly is dissolved earlier. - FMT