Bersatu could seize all BN seats in Kelantan in state polls
SINAR HARIAN REPORTER25 Apr 2023 08:00am
Periasamy
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Political analyst Datuk M Periasamy said this was following BN's decision to cooperate with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form the Unity government, which has caused the party to lose support from the Malay community.
For this reason, a large faction of BN supporters in Kelantan have turned their backs on the party and will cast their votes for Perikatan Nasional (PN).
"Support for BN has been declining even more now with the cooperation with PH.
"BN will not be able to defend the eight seats that it has previously won.
"Bersatu and Pas will expand their influence and cooperation. This coalition is definitely strong enough to fight and win over BN because the eight state seats are Malay majority areas.
"Based on this reality, Pas will be able to defend all the seats and win those held by BN previously," he told Sinar.
Periasamy said based on the 15th general election (GE15), Umno only received 33 per cent of Malay support compared to 43 per cent in the previous general election.
He said that the support will further depreciate if the party doesn't take measures to improve and make changes within the party.
"If this condition persist, the gap between Umno/BN and the people will widen further and will directly impact the results of the state polls. It could get worse," he said.
Another political analyst, Professor Dr Wong Chin Huat also sees that the decision made by Pas to give Bersatu to contest seats that it didn't in the last general election was a good formula.
He explained that Bersatu has better potential to attract Umno voters compared to Pas.
"Bersatu has a better chance of winning than Pas in Umno areas. Bersatu will win over Umno supporters because it has fired leaders like Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
"Kelantan comprises 95 per cent of Malays, narratives like DAP and Chinse threats or domination will not affect the state," he added.
