TANJUNG KARANG, Aug 16 — PAS is targeting Selangor as the starting point for defeating Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the state and subsequently at the federal level in the 16th general election, according to a report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

The report quoted Perikatan Nasional (PN) election director Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor as saying Selangor was a key target because of its importance as an economic powerhouse.

“If PH falls in Selangor, PH will fall at the federal level,” he was quoted as saying at a Selangor PAS election machinery gathering at the Selangor PAS complex here last night.

Sanusi, who is also Kedah Menteri Besar, urged voters to judge PH based on its record in government rather than its political messaging.

“Compare it with the performance of previous governments. What has PH achieved? They should show us what they have done while in power,” he said.

PH won 32 of Selangor’s 56 state seats in the 2023 state election, while PN won 22 and Barisan Nasional (BN) secured the remaining two.

PH and BN subsequently formed the state government. 

FMT also reported that analysts had previously viewed closer cooperation between BN and PN as a potential challenge to PH’s position in Selangor, particularly if it resulted in greater consolidation of Malay votes.

Last month, Selangor PKR Youth deputy chief Shahrul Adnan called on the state PH leadership to reconsider its political cooperation with BN following BN-PN cooperation in the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan state election.