AS the upcoming state elections draw near, political coalitions, including Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH), and Perikatan Nasional (PN), are intensifying their efforts to finalise the distribution of seats in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly that they will be contesting.
Negotiations between the PH and BN coalitions to determine the allocation of 56 state legislative assembly seats in Selangor are still ongoing.
However, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari recently revealed that PH and BN still need to reach a consensus regarding three of the 56 state legislative assembly seats to be contested in the upcoming state elections.
Sources indicate that the contested seats between BN and PH in Selangor include the Jeram state assembly seat under the Kuala Selangor parliamentary constituency, as well as two state assembly seats under the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency, namely Hulu Bernam and Batang Kali.
The Jeram and Hulu Bernam seats are currently being claimed by Umno and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), while the Batang Kali seat is being contested between PKR and BN (presumably MCA).
"One of the challenges faced by Umno is persuading its staunch supporters and members to back PH candidates in the upcoming state elections, especially if BN is not allocated a fair number of seats compared to other parties.
"The combination of party coalitions in specific areas is playing a crucial role in these negotiations. For instance, in Kuala Selangor, there are three state assembly seats: Melawati, Jeram, and Ijok.
"PKR emerged victorious in Ijok and Melawati, while the Jeram seat used to belong to Bersatu," the source told Sinar Premium recently.
On February 16, the Selangor state legislative assembly declared the Batang Kali seat vacant due to the prolonged absence of its representative, Harumaini Omar from Parti Pejuang Tanahair (Pejuang), without obtaining permission for more than six months since July 28 of the previous year.
Selangor State Assembly Speaker Speaker Ng Suee Lim confirmed that the declaration was made in accordance with Article LXIX of the Selangor State Government Constitution 1959, and the vacant seat will be referred to the Election Commission (EC).
During the 14th General Election (GE14), Harumaini, who was affiliated with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), won the Batang Kali state assembly seat on the PKR ticket with a majority of 8,315 votes, defeating the BN candidate, Datuk Mat Nadzari Ahmad Dahlan (13,221 votes), and Pas candidate Md Hasnizan Harun (7,408 votes).
However, when Bersatu withdrew from PH in February 2020, Harumaini declined to join the move and instead joined Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang).
The Hulu Bernam state assembly seat was won by BN candidate Datuk Rosni Sohar, who secured a slim majority of only 20 votes with 8,164 votes, defeating PKR representative Amran Sakir (8,144 votes) and PAS candidate Mohammed Salleh Ri (2,554 votes) in the previous GE14.
Meanwhile, the Jeram state assembly seat is currently held by Mohd Shaid Rosli from Pejuang, who won the seat in GE14 on the PKR ticket with a majority of 1,191 votes, defeating the BN candidate, Zahar Azlan Ariffin.
In a related matter, former Selangor menteri besar Mohamad Khir Toyo stated that he understood that BN intends to contest in 10 state legislative assembly seats in Selangor in the upcoming state elections, including three seats that are still under dispute with PH, particularly Amanah and PKR, and one state assembly seat under the Kuala Selangor and Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituencies.
The former Sungai Panjang assemblyman mentioned that the biggest issue faced by BN-Umno in Selangor is the lack of cooperation with PH, especially DAP, which is still unacceptable to the grassroots members and leaders of Umno.
Mohamad Khir further pointed out that until now, there have been no official discussions between Umno and PH leaders, especially DAP in Selangor, regarding seat distribution or election strategies, even though the dissolution of the state legislative assembly is approaching.
"The situation becomes more serious when only Umbo leaders are eager to establish cooperation with PH and DAP while they are not interested in reciprocating.
"This is because the majority of PH and DAP leaders are confident that they can win all the contested seats and maintain the status quo of the Selangor state government in the upcoming state elections, even without the support of Umno/BN supporters," he said.
However, Mohamad Khir stated that the situation is the opposite for BN, as they need the votes of PH supporters, especially from PKR and Amanah, to win seats in the upcoming state elections.
"Umno may also face protest votes from Indian and Chinese voters who support MCA and MIC, as many decisions made are perceived to have sidelined them as allies in BN," he said.