PN eyes 6 seats in Melaka, warns that ‘traditional’ votes not guaranteed

 PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad says the Islamic party won't overestimate itself in seat negotiations with BN.

PN Supreme Council member Idris Ahmad said Malaysian politics is now more uncertain, with some voters supporting one party in state elections and another in parliamentary elections.

PETALING JAYA:

Perikatan Nasional (PN) may contest six seats in the Melaka election under an agreement with Barisan Nasional (BN), although formal seat negotiations have yet to begin, says PN Supreme Council member Idris Ahmad.

Idris said PAS, in particular, would not overestimate itself in negotiating for seats, although he warned parties against assuming they still have “traditional” supporters, Berita Harian reported.

The PAS vice-president said Malaysian politics was now more uncertain, with some voters supporting one party in state elections and another in parliamentary elections

“This is what happened in Pahang: we won several state seats in a parliamentary constituency, but were defeated in the parliamentary election.

“Today’s voters are dynamic in nature. We cannot assume that we have traditional voters, whether Umno or PAS.

“The same applies to young voters, we can’t predict who they will support. And they are the ones determining political changes,” he was quoted as saying.

Idris maintained that PAS would not make unrealistic demands for seats, and would instead seek to contest constituencies based on data, political atmosphere and public reception.

“For PN, it may be around five to six seats,” he added.

“We have to consider our strengths. We shouldn’t fight over seat demands because negotiations must be based on our respective strengths.”

Immediately after BN-PN’s commanding victory in the Negeri Sembilan polls, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the cooperation with PN would continue in the Melaka election.

Shortly after, however, he insisted that BN would defend the 21 seats it won in the previous Melaka election, and was open to cooperating with other political groups.

Idris said it was the conventional practice to allow incumbents to defend their seats in negotiations, although this was still up for discussion.

“We will discuss this aspect. It’s easier to follow that principle, but we don’t know the (alliance) formula yet as we’re just about to start discussions.

“We may apply the incumbency formula, or we may opt for another formula. What’s important is that we’re not divided,” he said.

Idris also said PAS hoped that its rekindled relationship with Umno would be long-lasting, acknowledging the failure of previous pacts over the years.

“We hope that this relationship lasts forever this time around. We must learn from our past experiences.” - FMT