The 2008 general election was a watershed in Malaysian politics, with the opposition denying BN its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time and capturing several states.

One of the biggest upsets was the fall of Selangor, a resource-rich state that has been regarded as a BN stronghold. The opposition managed to retain Selangor in the 2013 general election as well.

However, there has been a shift in political alignments since then, with the collapse of Pakatan Rakyat and PAS appearing to be more supportive of Umno.

Speaking to the BN Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) portal today, Selangor Umno deputy information chief Mat Nazri Ahmad Dahlan said the state Umno had no problem working with PAS to defeat Pakatan Harapan, the new opposition bloc sans PAS.

On a personal level, Mat Nazri said he welcomed the cooperation between Umno and PAS, which have been at loggerheads for decades.

However, he pointed out it is up to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also Umno president, to decide.

“We are always open, what more if it is a move which would be beneficial to the people. But we have to follow what the president says,” he added.

Mat Nazri was commenting on a previous report by BNBBC, which quoted a source as claiming that Pakatan Harapan made plans for seat allocations in Selangor without PAS.

The report claimed that PKR, DAP, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu (Bersatu) have agreed to the seats allocated to the respective parties.

However, the portal claimed this has been kept secret from PAS as the Islamic party was appearing to be vague about working with the opposition coalition.

Of the 56 state seats in Selangor, the report said that PKR and DAP have been allocated 18 and 15 seats respectively.

Whereas, the 15 seats contested by PAS previously have been divided between Amanah and Bersatu. Amanah is being allocated 14 seats, and Bersatu nine.

The portal claimed that based on information it received, PKR is no longer interested in working with PAS, and numerous state constituencies in Selangor would witness three-cornered bouts in the next general election.

“This means Umno and BN have a good chance of recapturing the state,” BNBBC added.