Early indication: Pakatan and Barisan flags can be seen at Kampung Merbau Sempak in Sungai Buloh. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: With five days to go before nomination day for the six state elections, there is already discontent brewing among political parties.
The rumblings are due to a tug of war between political parties of the same alliance over certain seats and whether to announce mentri besar candidates.
However, political scientists say this is to be expected at this stage of the elections and that in the coming days, the top leaders of the coalitions are expected to negotiate and reach compromises among the parties.
So far, there are already two potential conflict points between allies in the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan faction after candidate announcements were made over the past two days.
Former rivals Barisan and Pakatan are now allies in the state elections as well as in the unity government at the federal level.
It was reported on Saturday that members from Amanah, a Pakatan party, are upset that Barisan wants to field a candidate in the Lenggeng seat in Negri Sembilan, which Amanah won in 2018.
Amanah is also reportedly asking to field candidates in Terengganu’s Bandar and Tepuh seats which Barisan has claimed.
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Meanwhile, PKR, another Pakatan party, said it wants to retain Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun as Mentri Besar in Negri Sembilan if the coalition is able to defend the state.
This is despite the fact that Barisan has said that the post should only be decided after the elections.
Barisan has announced that it will be fielding 107 candidates in the 245 state seats to be contested in the Aug 12 elections in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan.
From Pakatan, PKR announced that it is contesting 58 seats while Amanah is fielding candidates in 31 seats and asking for two more. Their partner, DAP, is expected to unveil its candidates in stages over the next few days.
As at press time, it has only done so for its candidates in Negri Sembilan while the list for Penang will be announced tomorrow.
A former Pakatan ally, Muda, is contesting 20 seats on their own and will face Pakatan in five seats in Selangor – Kota Anggerik, Seri Setia, Sungai Kandis, Bukit Antarabangsa and Sentosa – and three seats in Penang, which are Batu Uban, Perai and Pantai Jerejak.
The Opposition coalition, Perikatan Nasional, has announced the seat distribution among its component parties, with PAS contesting 126 seats, Bersatu 83 and Gerakan 36. However, it has yet to unveil its list of candidates.
Political scientist Dr Mazlan Ali said unhappiness among political partners at this stage is to be expected as grassroots members would always make demands on their leaders.
“This tug of war over seats is always about political mileage and survival,” he said, referring to the Lenggeng seat that Umno now wants back after it was wrested from it by Amanah in the 2018 election.
“At the end of the day, the top leaders will make a final decision whenever there are disagreements – as they have done in past elections,” said Mazlan from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
PKR communications director Lee Chean Chung said he is not worried about overlapping seats or internal sabotage, saying that the party had resolved all seat issues with its allies in the unity government.
“We have allocated seats based on each other’s strengths. We have so many things that we want to do and achieve and so, we have prepared enough space for everyone to contribute, either by being candidates or in other roles,” he said.
Another political scientist, Prof James Chin, echoed these points, saying that he does not expect to see these disagreements affecting the parties’ ability to campaign during the elections.
“These (disagreements) will be ironed out before nomination day. Local warlords who are unhappy about not being fielded will jump to the other side or stand as independents. But their numbers will be very small,” said Prof Chin of University of Tasmania.
What is more important in the polls, Prof Chin said, is whether a third force can emerge to challenge the dominance of Barisan-Pakatan and Perikatan as the battle lines are very clear.
“In the 15th General Election (last year), Pejuang tried to do this but it did not work.
“Muda is now trying to be a third force, but it is targeting Pakatan seats.
“This to me is more interesting than the scramble over seats,” he added.
