They say that with an addition of 2.97 million new voters in the state, the racial composition has changed, with 37 of the 56 seats up for grabs now showing a Malay-majority. Of the remaining seats, 13 are Chinese-majority constituencies while the remaining six are mixed seats.

Party insiders said leaders are worried rapid changes in the racial demographics would make it near impossible to reverse a defeat to Perikatan Nasional (PN) in future elections.

One source cited the urban Kota Kemuning seat which now has a Malay majority. Malay voters comprise 42%, while the Chinese make up 33%. Indians comprise 23% while others make up 2%.

“The number of Chinese and Malay voters in a large number of constituencies is pretty high with the addition of new voters. It’s going to be a difficult election for all,” he said.

One incumbent expressed worry that PN’s use of race and religion during its campaigns had become too blatant with wild claims of the country being ruled by non-Malays.

“Of course, they mean DAP. This could really hurt our chances,” he said.

According to a source, certain party leaders believe PH-BN will retain Selangor by a mere handful of seats in Selangor but the unity coalition risks losing the election if voter turnout drops to below 65%.

“Claims by PN leaders like Azmin Ali that there is no such thing as a ‘green wave’ are aimed at misleading non-Malay voters. They would prefer non-Malay voters to stay away as they know PH-BN will benefit if they turn up in droves.

“Although the party knows urban Malay voters think differently from those in rural areas, the blatant race and religious narratives being used to woo the Malays are frightening. We are really worried that this style of campaign may work for the opposition,” he told FMT.

In a recent TikTok video, the PH candidate for Subang Jaya, Michelle Ng, underscored the party’s fears of a possible low turnout, saying it should be a wake-up call for all.

“In GE15, a total of 2,850 postal ballots were issued for the Subang parliamentary constituency which has the Kinrara and Subang Jaya state seats. If you divide (that number) by two, each seat should get an average of 1,425 ballots.

“However, only 398 ballots were (returned) for Subang Jaya which works out to only 30%. For me, this is a huge concern because if this is reflective of the turnout on Aug 12, it is going to be a disaster for PH. We need at least a 65% turnout to win,” she said.