There are three seats in Permatang Pauh, namely Seberang Jaya, Permatang Pasir and Penanti. In the last elections, PKR won the Seberang Jaya and Penanti seats, while Amanah won Permatang Pasir.

“PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has announced that all the state seats we won in the last elections will remain with us,” Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin told FMT.

Umno currently has two state seats – Permatang Berangan and Sungai Dua. Permatang Pauh Umno chief Zaidi Said said the party wanted to contest a seat in his constituency, adding that Umno should not be expected to contest only the seats it held.

Permatang Pasir assemblyman Faiz Fadzil said it was ultimately up to the incumbent parties to decide whether they wanted to make way for an Umno candidate.

“If Umno’s candidate can secure victory, then the demand (for a seat) is reasonable. Plus, we could use more Malay representation in the state government,” he told FMT.

Faiz also said Umno should not just focus on seat allocations but work harder to convince its supporters to back PH candidates and the unity government.

He said that in last December’s Padang Serai election, Barisan Nasional did not do enough to mobilise its supporters to support PH’s Sofee Razak, who ultimately lost to Perikatan Nasional’s Azman Nasrudin.