A three-cornered fight in the upcoming Sungai Besar by-election will be an advantage for PAS, said the party's research centre director Zuhdi Marzuki.

Speaking during a ceramah last night at Taman Melewar, Gombak, Zuhdi said his view is based on a purported increase in Malay support for PAS and a swing towards BN among Chinese voters.

Zuhdi (photo), who is also a PAS central committee member, therefore argued a three-cornered fight may see the Chinese voters favouring BN, while Malay voters are split between PAS and Pakatan Harapan.

He added a straight fight between Harapan and BN, however, could see a recurrence of the situation in the 13th general election where Chinese voters were largely with Pakatan Rakyat while Malay voters were behind BN.

"If there's a three-cornered fight, a number of Chinese votes will now not go to Harapan.

“So our chances are better because Malay support for PAS now is almost at par with BN," he said.

While Zuhdi did not elaborate, he is likely referring to BN’s claims that the Sarawak election landslide victory was a signal that the Chinese have now returned to support the ruling party.

According to the Election Commission's latest statistics, Sungai Besar has 67.18 percent Malay voters, 31 percent Chinese voters and 0.23 percent others.

Commenting further, Zuhdi pointed out PAS had last lost in Sungai Besar in 2013 with only a 399-vote margin.

"Change can happen if we work hard. With support from Malay voters and a little boost of support from Indian voters, we have a chance (to win)," he said.

Both PAS and BN have announced that it would be unveiling its candidates for Sungai Besar as well as Kuala Kangsar tomorrow.

The Harapan presidential council, meanwhile, is scheduled to meet later this afternoon to finalise its candidates.

The June 18 twin by-elections were triggered by the deaths of its incumbents in the recent Sarawak helicopter tragedy.