Pakatan Harapan Selangor must be all-systems-go to ensure that the four component PH parties win the majority of the Selangor state assembly seats to continue to govern the state even in a three-cornered contest with PAS as spoiler

I welcome the formation of Selangor Pakatan Harapan by the Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) Selangor must be all-systems-go to ensure that the four component (PH) parties, DAP, PKR, Amanah and Pribumi Bersatu, win the majority of state assembly seats in Selangor in the 14GE to continue to govern the state, even in three-cornered contests with PAS as the spoiler.

Selangor is one of the five states which PAS under the leadership of Datuk Seri Hadi Awang had announced as the target of PAS to form state governments in the next general election – the others being Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Kedah.

I do not see PAS has having the remotest possibility of winning the Selangor State Government on its own steam. In fact, PAS in Selangor will be struggling just to win one State Assembly seat in the next general election.

If we look back at the PAS electoral history for Selangor since the 1959 general election, we will find that PAS in Selangor achieved its best results when it co-operated with DAP and PKR in the 1999, 2008 and 2013 General Elections when it won four, eight and fifteen state assembly seats in Selangor respectively.

In all the other nine general elections from 1959 to 2004, PAS in Selangor was a total washout as it did not win a single seat (breaking the egg in the 1974 General Election when it joined the Barisan Nasional and was conceded a seat by UMNO).

What is worth noting is that after the 1999 general election, when PAS was part of Barisan Alternative and won four out of 48 State Assembly seats in Selangor; it was thoroughly trounced in the 2004 General Election when it contested on its own and did not win a single seat out of the total of 56 State Assembly seats in Selangor.

Hadi had boasted that PAS would win five state governments in the 14 GE, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Pahang and Selangor. There is no possibility whatsoever of PAS winning Terengganu, Kedah, Pahang and Selangor although the question is open as to whether PAS would lose power in Kelantan which PAS had won for six consecutive general elections since 1999.

If Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat is still alive, PAS can still retain power in Kelantan State Government – but if Nik Aziz is still alive, Pakatan Rakyat would not have disintegrated because of PAS’ refusal to honour the PR Common Policy Framework and the PAS President would not have become the greatest apologist and defender for the Prime Minister’s “global kleptocracy” and 1MDB scandal.

For the first time in its history, PAS under Hadi will be playing a spoiler’s role in the 14th General Election, splitting votes to help UMNO/BN to win in difficult seats.

This is a role no other PAS President would have wanted PAS to play, but this is a measure of how much PAS under Hadi had deviated – to the extent of falsely accusing the DAP of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam when PAS had co-operated with DAP for three years under Barisan Alternative and for seven years under Pakatan Rakyat from 2008 to 2015.

Would Hadi’s PAS be rewarded by Najib for PAS’ spoiler role in the 14GE?

Would Najib agree to allow PAS to run five state governments in Kelantan, Terenggtanu, Kedah, Pahang and Selangor while Najib concentrate on winning UMNO parliamentary seats - even to the extent of winning back two-thirds parliamentary majority for UMNO/BN in Parliament?

This sounds very far-fetched, but be that as it may, the four Pakatan Harapan parties in Selangor must be all-systems go and hunker down to win every possible seat in Selangor so that Selangor will be governed by a 100% Pakatan Harapan coalition after the 14GE.