Subang masih kerusi selamat PH walau Wong Chen masuk Bersama, kata penganalisis

Analysts say Bersatu remains a challenge to take Subang from Pakatan Harapan (PH), despite former MP Wong Chen joining Bersatu. Wong took the seat from PKR in January after 17 years with the party, joining Bersatu. He first entered Parliament as the MP for Kelana Jaya in 2013, and held the seat when it was renamed Subang in 2018 and again in 2022.

In the 2022 general election, Wong retained Subang with a large 115,074-vote majority against three candidates from Gerakan and MCA. Wong Zhe Wei from Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia said Subang still has the potential to remain in PH as the Chinese community continues to strongly support the alliance. The majority Chinese community comprises 54% of voters, followed by Malays (26.4%), Indians (16.8%), and others (1.6%).

PKR can still win the seat if the Chinese community continues to support PH, although Wong may tip the balance. PH can win the seat but not by as much in a predominantly Chinese-majority area like PH-controlled strongholds PH such as Subang, Petaling Jaya, and Damansara, he said. Mazlan Ali from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia noted that Bersatu faces a significant challenge as PH has won bandar seats in Selangor like Subang, Petaling Jaya, and Damansara with majorities of tens of thousands of votes.

Wong's personal strength may not automatically transfer to Bersatu as previous wins were achieved under PH, he said. PH won by over 100,000 votes in Damansara. Many educated voters in bandar areas, particularly the T20 and M40 age groups, are difficult to appeal to a new party like Bersatu. Wong may find it hard to retain his seat in Subang even if he is well-known in the area, he said.

Lau said Wong's service record alone may not be enough for Bersatu to win Subang unless he has built a strong personal profile. He cited former Rembau MP and former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who contested in Sungai Buloh during PRU15 and ultimately lost to Ramanan from PKR by a margin of 2,693 votes in a seven-corner contest.

Azmi Hassan from the Nusantara Academy said Bersatu has a good chance of winning Subang if they put Wong as their candidate, as Wong is well-known in Subang and Kelana Jaya. "We can say Wong Chen and Subang are synonymous in a political sense in this case," he said. Therefore, Bersatu has a good chance of winning Subang in the upcoming general election, he said.