SHAH ALAM – The Selangor state elections will see intense campaigning for 34 constituencies with a majority of Malay voters, according to political analysts.
With seats in urban areas expected to be dominated by Pakatan Harapan (PH), analysts say Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and PH are all aware that winning all 34 seats, representing more than 60% of Malay voters, will enable the formation of the next state government.
Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Institution of Malay Rulers chair fellow Mujibu Abd Muis said traditionally, the Malay-majority seats, located mostly in northern Selangor, see clashes between BN and PN, but with the current political scenario, the competition for votes in the area will definitely be interesting.
He said with 22 other seats in areas having mixed seats and a high number of non-Malay voters who are believed to remain loyal to PH, these 34 seats will be the main battleground.
He believes the cooperation between PH as the state government and BN would be advantageous to any candidate from the two coalitions in view of the support from the grassroots to face candidates from PN consisting of PAS, Bersatu and Gerakan.
“If the cooperation between PH-BN translates well at the state level, I am sure it will be a big advantage for their candidates to compete against PN for the 34 seats.
“The current political dynamics in the PH-BN collaboration can be seen to be a factor in changing the pattern of support that PN received in the 15th general election (GE15),” he said.
Interesting clash
Meanwhile, Universiti Selangor deputy vice-chancellor Assoc Prof Hamdan Mohd Salleh believes PN’s success in dominating the parliamentary seats in the northern region of Selangor, which had a majority of Malay voters in GE15, will make the clash during the state elections this time around more interesting and challenging.
He said the state seats with a majority of Malay voters include Sg Air Tawar, Sabak, SgPanjang, Hulu Bernam, Batang Kali, Sg Besar, Permatang, Jeram, and Kuang are being eyed by all contesting parties to balance the high non-Malay voter turnout in 22 seats in the urban areas.
“Taking into account PN’s success in the Sabak Bernam, Sg Besar, Tanjung Karang and Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituencies in GE15, we can expect an interesting clash in the northern region of Selangor.
“However, now that PH and BN are in one team, I am confident that the voting trend at the parliamentary level in GE15 will not be an absolute guarantee that the voters in rural communities in this state election will remain in favour of PN,” he said.
Selangor has 56 state assembly seats, with 29 required for a simple majority to form the government.
During GE14, PH dominated Selangor when it won 51 out of 56 state assembly seats, followed by BN with four and PAS with one.
However, the composition of the state assembly before the dissolution sees PH holding 40 seats (PKR - 19, DAP - 15, Amanah-six), BN (five), Bersatu (four), and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (two), while PAS, Pejuang, and Warisan have one each, along with one Independent representative.
Another seat in Batang Kali, however, was declared vacant after the elected representative failed to attend the assembly sitting for over six months.
The 14th Selangor assembly was officially dissolved yesterday, paving the way for state polls.
Selangor is one of the six states to hold its state elections this year. The other states are Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan and Penang.
In GE15, PH won 16 parliamentary constituencies in Selangor namely Kota Raja, Pandan, Sepang, Kuala Selangor, Selayang, Gombak, Ampang, Hulu Langat, Bangi, Puchong, Subang, Petaling Jaya, Damansara, Sg Buloh, Shah Alam and Klang.
Meanwhile, PN won six parliamentary seats, namely Sabak Bernam, Sg Besar, Hulu Selangor, Tg Karang, Kapar and Kuala Langat. – Bernama, June 24, 2023
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