PETALING JAYA: Selangor Barisan Nasional faces a daunting task in seat negotiations with newfound ally Pakatan Harapan for the coming state election given its poor showing in the last two general and state polls, a political analyst said.
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said BN was handicapped as it was whitewashed in the November general election in Selangor, and won only four of the 56 state seats in 2018.
He said the seat negotiations would be even tougher because Amanah and Umno were vying for the same Malay majority seats, while PKR was looking to wrest back Bukit Antarabangsa and Gombak Setia which it lost when the assemblymen jumped ship.
“If there are seats for Umno, they will most likely be Malay majority ones, which are also Amanah’s target,” Azmi told FMT.
Previously, Amanah was PH’s first choice for Malay-majority seats but there are now other considerations because of the PH-BN partnership.
“In certain circumstances, Umno is seen as more influential than Amanah,” he said.
Sany Hamzan, an Amanah central leadership committee member, had said PH would defend all the state seats it held despite its collaboration with BN.
While PH romped home in 2018 with 51 of the 56 state seats, it has since lost five seats to Perikatan Nasional.
Azmi believes PKR wants to wrest back Bukit Antarabangsa and Gombak Setia which were won by its former members, Azmin Ali and Hilman Idham, respectively.
“It is illogical for PKR to give way to BN. To me, PKR has a right to defend its seats,” he said.
Azizuddin Mohd Sani from Universiti Utara Malaysia said BN’s MIC and MCA would complicate seat negotiations in the state.
PH and BN may offer them alternatives to seats, such as the speaker’s post or similar, he said.
Azmi sees Umno grabbing all the seats offered to BN. “I don’t think Umno will give up seats to MIC or MCA,” he said. - FMT
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