State polls: The heat is on in Selangor

The heat is also on in the other six states that will hold the election as political parties compete with each other to contest for state assembly seats.

Selangor has again become the focus point, as reported that Umno has requested for 17 seats to contest as opposed to the 10 offered out of 56 state assembly seats by Pakatan Harapan (PH).

Barisan Nasional (BN) has only won four seats in the 14th General Election (GE14), all of which were won by Umno candidates.

Sungai Panjang, BN state assemblyman Datuk Mohd Imran Tamrin said BN is expected to receive a minimum of 10 or 11 state seats in Selangor.

"Or we could receive a maximum of 15 seats, despite asking for 22 seats initially to represent the 22 Umno divisions in Selangor.

"However, decisions are not final yet. Even if we get only 10 or 11 seats, BN will have to work hard to win with the help of PH.

"Same goes for other seats contested by PH; we will have to work together as one under the Unity Government banner and make sure we win the seats contested," he said.

He added that he has left it to the BN and PH leadership to make the final decision on the seat allocation.

When contacted by Sinar Harian, Selangor BN chairman Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin said the decision on the number of seats given to BN would be decided on June 6.

Meanwhile, Selangor PH chairman Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, who is also Selangor Menteri Besar, said PH and BN have already concluded discussion and have reached an agreement on 49 out of the 56 state seats to be contested in the Selangor state election this year.

He said negotiations on the remaining seven seats were ongoing and expected the allocation process to be completed by the time the state assembly is dissolved.

"I can say that seat allocations are 83 per cent complete for now.

"This is a huge development considering we have only met twice at the state level," he told reporters after the 2021–2022 Selangor state sports award ceremony on Sunday.

PKR Sentosa assemblyman G Gunaraj said there is no competition for the Sentosa state seat between BN and PH.

He said the state leadership has decided to give the state seats to the parties that won the seats during GE14.

"Based on my understanding, BN wants more seats, but there is no decision yet on this. However, PH would want to contest seats that have been won by the coalition," he added.

He said PH has to stand firm on the issue of seat allocations, although the ultimate decision lies with the coalition's top leadership.