Kedah conundrum: can PH-BN wrest prized state from PAS’ hands?

KUALA LUMPUR – While many quarters predict that the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) alliance is treading an uphill path to capture Kedah from the hands of PAS, one of its leaders, Datuk Mahfuz Omar, has a different view.  

The Kedah PH chairman is confident that 16 of the 36 seats in the legislative assembly are in their grasp and the alliance only needs three more constituencies to form a new state government after the state election this Saturday. 

He said that the additional three seats will give PH-BN an easy majority victory, thus allowing them to seek an audience with the sultan of Kedah to present their menteri besar candidate.  

Kedah is presently ruled by a PAS-led government, headed by the party’s maverick menteri besar, Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor. 

“I am confident that 16 seats are already within our grasp. We only want to chase three more seats. I am confident that the three seats have been achieved so far,” Mahfuz said in a press conference in Alor Star late yesterday. 

The media conference was also attended by Kedah BN chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, Kedah Amanah chairman Datuk Ismail Salleh, and Kedah DAP Chairman Tan Kok Yew. 

Declining to name the three seats in question, Mahfuz, who is contesting the Alor Mengkudu state seat, said that they cannot be revealed because of the narrow margin of support seen at present. 

He added that PH-BN would be deemed to get a bonus if they manage to win more than 19 seats.  

“We are working hard to get a comfortable number, because if we win more than 19 seats, I consider that a bonus.  

“We don’t need to chase a number that is difficult to achieve, so we are focussing on these three seats because 16 are already with us. The simple majority (19 seats) is already there,” he was quoted as saying by Getaran, the Malay-language sister portal of The Vibes. 

Cooperation with federal government vital 

In another development, Mahdzir dismissed claims that the federal unity government would be replaced if all the six states now seeing simultaneous elections are won by the opposition bloc, referring to Perikatan Nasional (PN) 

Besides Kedah, the states of Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan and Terengganu also face polls on Saturday. 

Mahdzir said a change of power is unlikely to happen in Putrajaya because the elections do not involve seats won by the unity government in Parliament. 

“It’s just an attempt to confuse voters,” he said. 

Upset with such claims, he said many accusations and false speculations have been hurled against the federal government, even though the reforms brought by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim are already being felt in states led by governments aligned with the federal administration. 

“What the federal government announced for the economy, development and welfare is actually being done.  

“Because things have only been moving in the last eight months (since PH-BN gained power in November), the effect cannot be seen as a whole yet,” he said. 

Mahdzir stressed that if Kedah can have a government that is in tandem with the federal government, the state is bound to feel the benefits faster just like the states that are already reaping from advantageous policies as they are aligned with Putrajaya.

This may be the most opportune time to wrest Kedah under Sanusi who is now dogged by heavy legal actions.

In the past week, it was reported that Sanusi was slapped with libel notices of demand from tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and caretaker Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

Besides that, he is facing two counts of insulting the Selangor sultan.

Mahfuz also said that Sanusi has yet to settle the RM10,000 in damages which the court had awarded to him earlier this year, after Sanusi was found guilty of defaming the former. – The Vibes, August 10, 2023