At a press conference here, Selangor PKR election director Yaakob Sapari noted that the parliamentary seats in the northern coastal region of the state fell under the control of Perikatan Nasional after the 15th general election.

Yaakob said voters should not allow the opposition to control the state assembly constituencies in the area as it would make it difficult to coordinate development and allocate funds from the state government.

He said surveys and data collected from the ground indicated that the PH-BN coalition was comfortably positioned to form the next state government.

In appealing to voters in the northern coastal areas of Tanjong Karang, Sabak Bernam and Sungai Besar, he said: “The MPs there are from PN, so it will be very difficult for us to serve the people in those areas if the opposition also wins the state assembly constituencies there.

He said it would be easier to provide assistance to constituents if they elected representatives from the ruling coalition.

Yaakob acknowledged that a “fierce battle” was taking place in the northern areas of the state, particularly in constituencies where BN was contesting through Umno.

He said this was due to the split in Umno, with one camp supporting PN and the other supporting BN’s cooperation with PH.

“It’s a fierce battle as there is division within the same party. Half of Umno supports PN and the other half is with PH, but we hope that PH-BN candidates can perform well in the area,” he added.

However, he said there was good coordination of the PH-BN machinery on the ground and this would provide an advantage to their candidates.

The six constituencies PH-BN are contesting in northern Selangor are Sungai Air Tawar (BN), Sabak (PH), Sungai Panjang (BN), Sekinchan (PH), Sungai Burong (BN), and Permatang (PH).