The Malaysian Insight

BARISAN Nasional (BN) leaders in three of the six states on the peninsula holding elections this year have voiced hope for the coalition to defend all its seats.

Ahead of seat negotiations with Pakatan Harapan (PH), the BN leaders in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu admitted that was a big ask.

Umno Terengganu information chief Nik Dir Nik Wan Ku said BN and PH in Terengganu have agreed in principle agreed to cooperate in the state elections.

Nik Dir said Terengganu BN leaders have had several informal meetings with their PH counterparts but nothing has been concretised.

“We are waiting for instructions from the central leadership on when to officially commence the talks.

“I also see that both parties will have no problem sharing the seats. Both of us are open and are willing to cooperate,” he said.

Nik Dir, who is also chairman of the party’s Marang division, said Umno Terengganu wants to defend the 10 state seats it won in the 2018 general election.

“We hope that the 10 seats we won will still be ours,” he added.

The 10 seats are Kuala Besut, Jertih, Hulu Besut, Permaisuri, Langkap, Batu Rakit, Seberang Takir, Telemung, Bukit Besi, and Kijal.

On the remaining 22 seats, he said Amanah and PKR are welcome to divide them between themselves.

“There should not be any problem in the distribution of seats because Amanah and PKR are not strong in Terengganu. As far as I know, they wish to only focus on three or four seats.”

PH did not win a single state or parliament seat in Terengganu in 2018.

In the 2022 general election, Islamist party PAS won all eight parliamentary seats in the state.

Nik Dir believes that PN has lost steam since then and is “not as strong” after allegations of vote-buying surfaced.

“Its strong showing in the general election was due to bribery.”

He said the bribery will be among the key issues in the BN campaign.

“We will explain to the voters that the party they chose had portrayed itself as a clean party when it was actually worse than Umno.”

Terengganu, along with Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, and Penang, will hold elections this year.

Talk of a BN and PH tie-up for the polls was revived after the two agreed to form a unity government in the face of a hung parliament.

BN and PH have since also formed coalition governments in Perak and Pahang.

Meanwhile, BN leaders in Kelantan and Kedah said they are also still waiting for a signal from the leadership to start official negotiations for seats with PH.

Kuala Krai Umno deputy chairman Zaki Muhammad said they are leaving it to the top leadership to draw up a seat-sharing formula that “will benefit all parties”.

He added the formula should favour incumbents or the party more likely to win.

The formula does have a downside, said Zaki.

Take Kelantan, where Umno has eight seats, he said.

“If we were to assign the seats only to the incumbents or the party that has the most support, then PH will not get a single seat in Kelantan.”

That, he said, is not fair to PH.

In Selangor and Penang, however, it is Umno that is the marginal party.

BN’s eight state seats in Kelantan are Kok Lanas, Gual Ipoh, Bukit Bunga, Ayer Lanas, Kuala Balah, Nenggiri, Paloh, and Galas.

In 2022, PAS won every one of Kelantan’s federal seats, including Gua Musang, a seat Umno has held since 1974 via Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Kedah Umno deputy chairman Suraya Yaacob said elections are expected to be called September.

“The BN election machinery is ever ready.” – February 8, 2023.