Malaysia state polls: Selangor expected to be most fiercely fought; outcome will be closely scrutinised

SHAH ALAM, Selangor: Selangor, Malaysia's richest and most industrialised state, is expected to be the most hotly contested at the Aug 12 state elections. 
 
Observers believe failure to defend the state, led by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition since 2008, will have serious repercussions for Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration at the federal level.
 
In the 15th General Election last November, the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) bagged six out of 22 federal seats in Selangor, driven by the so-called Islamic "green wave".
 
At the upcoming state elections, 56 seats in the Selangor state assembly are up for grabs. Thirty-nine of them are predominantly Malay seats.
 
A simple majority of 29 seats is needed to rule the state. 

Selangor caretaker chief minister Amirudin Shari of PH component party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) said: “They (PN) are targeting 33 (seats), but we are targeting 45 to 50. They also understand that it’s not an easy task. They know that our supporters will not vote for them.
 
“But they are targeting UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) members and UMNO supporters.”

COUNTING ON COALITION PARTNER UMNO

Selangor, which contributes about a quarter of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP), has the largest pool of eligible voters at more than 3.7 million.
 
PH is counting on its coalition partner UMNO to regain the support of Malays, the majority of whom voted for PN at the last election.
 
“UMNO has very good network and grassroots in the rural areas, which has been a bit of a black area for us for so long,” said Mr Amirudin. 
 
“The north of Selangor, especially in Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor, or Tanjung Karang. Hopefully, they can convince their supporters.”
 
Observers, however, believe this is not an easy task, as some among UMNO grassroots still resent having to work with former rival Democratic Action Party (DAP) in the unity government that is barely seven months old. 
 
There is a risk of them boycotting the election or switching support to PN, they noted. 

UMNO’s Selangor youth chief Mohd Imran Tamrin said efforts are ongoing to convince its members to support the alliance with PH. 

PN SEIZING ON DISCONTENTMENT

Meanwhile, PN is seizing on the discontentment to further drive a wedge among coalition partners.
 
“This is not an issue of the green wave, it’s a wave of discontent among the people,” said PN's Selangor chief Azmin Ali. 
 
“People want to know within 100 days what you can do, (but) it’s been seven months. There is no direction, no solutions. The leadership is weak.”
 
Political analysts said the Anwar administration has to explain to voters the short-term economic pains that Malaysia is going through. Many have blamed the government for rising prices and the Malaysian ringgit’s continued weakness, among other things.  

At a unity government roadshow in Kuala Selangor on Wednesday (Jul 12), Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, who is PH’s national election director, rebutted the accusation of economic mismanagement hurled against the unity government. 

"ECONOMY NOT IN SHAMBLES"

“The economy is not in shambles. Our growth rate of between 4 to 5 per cent is among the highest in the region and inflation is trending down at 2.8 per cent,” he said, adding that the problem lies in low wage growth. 

The government has clear economic policy and solutions, which will be unveiled in the lead-up to the Aug 12 state polls to win over fence-sitters, he said.

His ministry will release the renewable energy transition plan on Jul 27 which will attract RM25 billion (US$5.45 billion) in investments and create some 23,000 high-paying jobs.

“For the last six, seven months, the governing parties have focused very much on running the country. Everything was about policies, while there was a lot of build-up of opposition content against us which we now have to neutralise,” said Mr Rafizi, who insisted there is still time to counter the opposition narrative. 
 
Meanwhile, Mr Anwar has promised to unveil the Madani Economic Narrative next month to put the country on a stronger economic growth path.
 
Observers said he needs a strong win in Selangor to inject public confidence in his administration and ensure the stability of his unity government.