‘Unity govt parties to stand in all state seats’

SEREMBAN: Parties in the unity government will contest all seats in the coming elections in six states including those which are said to be Perikatan Nasional strongholds, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

The Barisan Nasional elections director said no political party could claim to have a sure win in any contest.

“If I may refer to football, you may remember the match where Manchester United lost seven nil 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 here yesterday.

Mohamad, who is also Umno deputy president, said the allies were not going to take any election for granted and would give equal focus to all states.

He was asked to comment whether parties in the unity government would give more focus in Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang where Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan seemed to have more advantage compared to Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan which are 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. If we are well organised, then we will not have to worry about others (opposition),” he said.

Mohamad said the unity government allies should not think of fielding a winnable candidate but a “must win” candidate.

“We need to field a candidate who has more than a 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 their candidates.

He said leaders would decide if a seat would be contested by the incumbent party or if it was better to field a candidate who could deliver a victory

“We (Barisan and Pakatan Harapan) will need to justify what we want so that talks can proceed smoothly. For example, we should not have a situation where a candidate from Barisan is not fielded in any of the state seats in a particular parliamentary constituency,” he added.