SEREMBAN: The allies in the unity government will contest all seats in elections to be held in six states including those which are supposedly Perikatan Nasional strongholds, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
The Barisan Nasional election director said no political party can claim to have a sure win in any contest.
"If I may use football terminology, you may remember the match where Manchester United lost 7-0 to Liverpool (in the English Premier League)?
"Did anyone expect Manchester United to lose that badly?" he asked when met after opening the SK Taman Tuanku Ja'afar Parent Teacher Association meeting.
Mohamad, who was also Umno deputy president, said the allies were not going to take any election for granted and would give equal focus in all states.
He was asked to comment if the coalition would give more focus in Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang where Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan seemed to have the advantage compared to Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan which were currently held by Perikatan.
Mohamad said it was also incorrect to say both Barisan and Pakatan had the upper hand in Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang.
"There is no such thing. We cannot treat this lightly.
"We need to make sure our election machinery is fully prepared, we are well organised internally and then we will not have to worry about others (opponents)," he said.
The Rembau MP said the allies could no longer think of fielding a winnable candidate but would have to field a "must win" candidate.
"Since it is going to be tougher this time, we need to field a candidate who has more than 50% chance of winning.
"When we have a candidate who meets that criteria, our job will be easier," he said, adding that all party divisions and state liaison committees must look into this when nominating them.
Elaborating, Mohamad said in ongoing talks, leaders from both sides would also finalise if a seat would be contested by the incumbent party or if it was better to field a candidate who could deliver a sure win.
"We (Barisan and Pakatan) will need to justify what we want so that talks can proceed smoothly," he said.