Six states – Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan – are expected to hold their elections in July or August of this year. Kelantan was the first to dissolve its state assembly on Thursday.
The state polls are keenly watched as it will be the first major elections held since November 2022 when Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition chairman Anwar Ibrahim was appointed prime minister. Mr Anwar currently leads a unity government, which includes PH, the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
PN, which consists of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan), are currently the opposition in the federal government.
SEAT NEGOTIATIONS DONE “WITH EASE”
On Thursday, Mr Muhyiddin announced that PN had finalised seat negotiations for the state polls. He outlined that the coalition will contest all 245 seats across the six states, of which PAS are contesting 126 seats, Bersatu 83 seats and Gerakan 36 seats.
He added that PN was ready to defend the three states it currently holds – Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah. Moreover, the Pagoh Member of Parliament added that PN is eyeing to wrest the states of Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
“The seat negotiations were smooth and there were no disagreements that may have caused any problems. It was all done with ease,” said Mr Muhyiddin.
He added that the coalition will use the PAS logo to campaign in the islamic parties’ stronghold states of Kelantan and Terengganu and use the PN logo in the remaining areas.
When asked to respond to accusations that PN would campaign using racial rhetoric to consolidate support among the Malay-Muslim majority, Mr Muhyiddin denied that this was the case.
“Our agenda has been very clear. We’re not focusing on this (rhetoric). We are focusing on what is often important to the people, especially in this situation now where most voters feel that the present unity government has not done much. In fact, many have said they have failed,” said Mr Muhyiddin.
“And what is of concern to them now is how do we address the issues that many are facing – issue of inflation, issue of cost of living, rising costs of food and services, helping our businesses,” he added.
“So it’s not about race, religion, and royalty … Those are issues which we acknowledge have been mentioned many times in many (previous) elections but key to this election now in those six states is what we will do to help address that problem that people are facing today,” said Mr Muhyiddin.
The Bersatu president was also asked to comment on financial constraints that his party faces for the upcoming polls, given that Bersatu’s bank accounts have been frozen by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as part of the agency’s investigation processes.
Mr Muhyiddin said that in spite of this challenge, he was pleased that potential candidates of the coalition understood the situation and were willing to shoulder some of the financial burden.
“They are willing to work hard and undertake whatever responsibility that they will have to bear including (forking out) some of the costs to minimise burden on the party, especially Bersatu.”
“But of course at the same time when we contest, under the Perikatan Nasional symbol, so the parties . PAS, Bersatu, Gerakan pool our effort together, and whatever resources we have, we share to make sure that we win this election,” added Mr Muhyiddin.