BN will be of no help in PAS’s quest to win Selangor, says analyst

An analyst asserts that Barisan Nasional (BN) will prove ineffective in PAS's attempt to seize Selangor from Pakatan Harapan (PH), contending PAS will need a strong ally to accomplish this objective. Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara posits that BN cannot replace Bersatu and the role the party played in assisting Perikatan Nasional (PN) in securing seats during the last state election.

He emphasizes that PN's victories in Selangor were primarily due to Azmin Ali of Bersatu, who is synonymous with the state's political landscape. PN's core group, PAS, terminated its relationship with Bersatu in June due to a strained alliance. Despite PAS potentially collaborating with BN, its influence remains limited according to Azmi, who points out that BN only secured two of the 12 contested seats, with Megat Zulkarnain Omardin losing in Gombak Setia.

PN and BN agreed to avoid competing against each other in the Negeri Sembilan polls, which enabled the alliance to achieve a two-thirds majority and oust PH from power in the state, a position it had held for two terms. BN's chairman, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, announced the extension of the electoral agreement with PN for the Melaka state election.

Last week, PN's election director, Sanusi Nor, stated that PAS aimed to use the Selangor election as the starting point for its campaign to remove PH from power in Putrajaya. Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia notes that without Bersatu, PAS would find it challenging to secure seats in Selangor. He asserts that the BN-PN alliance has not yet been tested, unlike the successful Bersatu-PAS collaboration in Selangor.

Moreover, Mahmud mentions that the seat in Dusun Tua, one of the two won by Umno, was previously held by the Democratic Action Party (DAP). The agreement between BN and PN will be scrutinized during seat discussions. The dissolution of PAS and Bersatu's partnership is expected to intensify Bersatu's efforts to counter PAS's growing influence.

Selangor's upcoming election is scheduled for November 18, 2028, unless the state assembly is dissolved earlier.