PENANG Pakatan Harapan is telling rival Barisan Nasional to bring it on, as the latter declares it can take all Malay seats in the opposition-controlled northern state.

While Penang PH chairman and chief minister Lim Guan Eng has said the coalition will not underestimate BN, state chiefs of PKR, Bersatu and Amanah said BN should not discount the work done by the opposition parties and the support they have in the state.

Penang PKR chairman Mansor Othman said PH only needed a 5% Malay vote swing to take seats held by Umno, reminding BN that the competition from PH this time was different, with new partners Bersatu and Amanah helping to win over Malay voters in Umno territory.

“We don’t underestimate BN’s ambition, but we want them to know the opposition has been working on the ground for 20 years. We know our strengths and weaknesses.

“This time things are different. We have ‘added value’, especially with Bersatu with us,” he said of the Umno splinter party led by former prime minister and PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Bersatu can shift Malay voters’ support. We only need a swing of 5% because many of the Umno-held seats were won by slim majorities of less than 1,000 votes in the 2013 general election,” Mansor told The Malaysian Insight.

Umno won only 10 seats in Penang in the 2013 general election, losing Seberang Jaya, Penanti, Sungai Bakap and Batu Maung to PKR, and Permatang Pasir to PAS. Umno’s best performance was in Penaga, Bertam, Pinang Tunggal and Permatang Berangan, winning with vote majorities of less than 1,700.

Umno retained Telok Air Tawar, Sungai Acheh and Teluk Bahang with majorities of 840, 808 and 801 respectively; but won Sungai Dua, Pulau Betong and Bayan Lepas with slimmer majorities of 357, 395 and 458 respectively.

Last week, Penang Umno chief Zainal Abidin Osman said the party – the only BN component with seats in the state – aims to win all the 15 state seats it traditionally contests in the state, as well as five parliamentary seats.

BN deputy chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also said BN could take back Penang from the DAP-led opposition coalition.

In the 14th general election, PKR is gunning for Umno’s Pinang Tunggal, Telok Air Tawar and Pulau Betong; and defending the four seats it took from the BN lynchpin party. Bersatu will target Penaga, Bertam, Teluk Bahang and Permatang Berangan, while Amanah goes after Sungai Dua, Bayan Lepas and PAS’ sole seat Permatang Pasir.

‘As long as no cheating involved’

Penang Bersatu chief Marzuki Yahya said if BN was so confident, Zainal should announce he would again stand for election in Nibong Tebal, the parliamentary seat the Umno leader has failed to win back from PKR in the 2008 and 2013 polls.

He said PH was confident of its chances in the Umno-held constituencies, considering the “more positive Malay mood” on the ground since the inclusion of Bersatu.

“In the past, PKR could not take some of the Umno seats, but with Bersatu in PH, a swing can happen. We have managed to infiltrate hardcore Umno areas like Penaga, Permatang Berangan and Teluk Bahang.

“The cooperation among the PH components is also very good. We can face the Umno machinery. Many in Bersatu used to be part of that Umno machinery.

“PH has chance to take the Umno seats, as long as there is no cheating in the elections,” he said, referring to talk that new voters were moved into opposition areas like Permatang Pauh to boost BN’s chances.

On PAS contesting in Malay seats and causing three-cornered fights that could ruin PH’s chances, Marzuki said PAS’ aim was not to win the seats, but to help Umno win.

Amanah vice-president and Penang chief Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the three-cornered fights were inevitable but could be overcome, as Umno only won by small margins and PAS had only managed to win one seat in Penang over the years.

Penang’s performance under PH

The former PAS leader also said PH was stronger now with Bersatu, and the three parties had members and activists working in the Malay-majority areas for the past two years.

“More Malays are supporting PH because they are benefitting from state policies like the ‘Agenda Ekonomi Saksama’ (Equitable Economic Agenda), welfare and relief aid programmes that help the B40 group.

“The state’s distributive policy has a good impact on the people. On local issues, they can see that the state government has been working on handling them. That gives PH an advantage too,” he said.

On PH’s candidates for GE14, Mansor said PKR’s list which consists of “old and new faces” including party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has been finalised.

Amanah and Bersatu were still vetting their candidate lists. For now, Amanah is tipped to field Mujahid and Amanah Youth deputy chief Faiz Fadzil in Bayan Lepas and Permatang Pasir respectively.

Penang Bersatu, Marzuki said, is looking for winnable candidates consisting of professionals and those accepted by the rakyat who can deliver and serve the electorate well. – March 25, 2018.