Umno needs a reality check as it has little leverage to demand one-third of the seats in the four PAS-dominated states known as the SG4, a political analyst says.
Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said Umno, the lynchpin of Barisan Nasional (BN), must recognise its limited bargaining power, warning that excessive demands could jeopardise cooperation with PAS.
He said PAS could retain control of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis without Umno’s support.
“Umno needs to be aware of its own capabilities and limitations. It needs a reality check,” he told FMT.
Mazlan said PAS might find it difficult to accept Umno Supreme Council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed’s demand that Umno be allocated one-third of the seats in the four states.
He warned that the demand could undermine efforts to strengthen ties between the country’s two largest Malay-Muslim parties.
Analyst questions Umno’s seat demands
Mazlan said the demand appeared unreasonable given BN’s insistence on defending the 21 state seats it won in the 2021 Melaka election in the upcoming polls.
He also pointed out that Umno had adopted a similar approach in the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan election, defending every seat it won in 2023.
Umno urged to leave negotiations to state chapters
Akademi Nusantara’s Azmi Hassan said central Umno leaders such as Nur Jazlan should not interfere in negotiations between the parties, as each state had its own political dynamics.
“The (central Umno leadership’s) decision to allow the respective state chapters to conduct their own negotiations is the right move, because it accounts for the difference in strength at the state level and the local political environment.
“Nonetheless, the final decision on working with PAS ultimately falls on the Umno Supreme Council.”
Nur Jazlan’s remarks also drew criticism from Kedah Umno information chief Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin, who said his party colleague should avoid making statements that could hamper ties between Umno and PAS while negotiations were ongoing.
Of the four SG4 states, Umno has elected representatives only in Kelantan, through Galas assemblyman Syahbuddin Hashim and Nenggiri assemblyman Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani.
