The coalition is expected to maintain control of the state with a higher majority of at least 30 out of 36 state seats
by HAZATUL SYIMA HARON
THE upcoming state election in Kedah is expected to see the northern state following in the footsteps of its tiny neighbour Perlis, where nearly all the state seats were swept up by Perikatan National (PN). The coalition won 14 out of 15 Perlis state seats with the sole remaining seat going to Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Gan Ay Ling from PKR.
According to a Kedah voter for N11 Derga who requested anonymity, PN is said to be confident of winning at least 30 out of the 36 state seats up for grabs in the upcoming election.
Currently, the state administration is held by PN, which has 21 lawmakers in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly — 15 from PAS and six from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. The Opposition bloc is formed by 10 lawmakers from PH (PKR 5, Parti Amanah Negara three, DAP 2), two from Parti Pejuang Tanah Air and two from Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Umno.
Voter Syafik Abdul Rahman is also confident that PN will maintain power in the state. He expects PN to win as PAS is strong in the state and is projected to strengthen its hold on the Malay/Muslim voters.
The 35-year-old PAS member will be voting at N10 Bukit Pinang, which is currently held by state assemblyman Romani Wan Salim from PN-PAS, under the P08 Pokok Sena parliamentary constituency, also held by PN-PAS via its MP Datuk Ahmad Yahaya.
Another Kedah voter Amir Izat Zainal, however, is not sure which coalition will win the state election.
“Hard to say. PN could have dominated before with PAS leading. Now, (I’m) not so sure,” said the 39-year-old who will be voting at N15 Anak Bukit, which is currently held by state assemblyman Amiruddin Hamzah from Pejuang.
Malay Sentiment
To understand why PN is expected to dominate in Kedah, let’s look at N11 Derga.
The ethnic breakdown of Derga’s electorate as of 2018 is 59.8% Malay, Chinese (35.06%), Indian (4.39%) and other ethnicities (0.74%). From 1995 or the Ninth State Assembly, the constituency has been held by a Chinese representative, starting with Cheung Thai Yan from BN’s Gerakan (1995-2008) and Tan Kok Yew from PH’s DAP (2013-present). Tan won the seat with a 5,265 majority in 2018.
The Derga voter told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) that he will be voting for Tan still as the latter will be contesting in the upcoming election. However, he thinks that PN stands a chance of wresting the seat away from PH.
“My state seat depends who represents PN. If it’s a Malay, then there is a bigger chance of them winning,” the former Kedah state government official said.
He stressed the fact that Kedahans tend to vote for the party of their choice, rather than for the individual candidate. Both Syafik and Amir concurred when queried by TMR. They will be basing their vote on the party of their choice.
The Derga voter said: “The sentiment from the last general election (GE), ie GE14 for state election, for strong Malay representation has not changed. So, PN stands a chance to win Malay-denominated seats.
“There is also negative sentiment against Umno. Now that PH is working with Umno, so most probably most voters will reject both PH and Umno.”
When asked who will win control of the state, the staunch PH supporter said: “Of course Kedah goes to PN.”

Muhammad Sanusi (front, right) taking photos with the people at his Aidilfitri open house in Alor Setar recently. The PAS heavyweight is expected to keep his MB position with PN expected to win a bigger majority in Kedah (pic: Muhammad Sanusi’s Facebook)
The Likely MB
The state government is currently helmed by Kedah MB Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor from PN’s PAS. The N24 Jeneri state assemblyman won the seat in 2018 against incumbent BN-Umno’s Mahadzir Abdul Hamid and PH’s Mohd Nazri Abu Hassan with a 2,455 majority.
Muhammad Sanusi was formerly the state’s Opposition leader from July 2018 until the collapse of the PH state administration led by his predecessor Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir in May 2020. He took over the leadership then and is known to be a popular political figure with Kedahans, as can be seen by the thousands of people (said to exceed 50,000) who thronged his recent Hari Raya open house.
“In Kedah, Muhammad Sanusi is a hero. He is a bit of a gangster, but he’s politically smart and quite savvy,” said the Derga voter, who expects the MB to keep his position after the state election.
On other candidates that can lead Kedah, he said Pokok Sena MP Ahmad might be considered for the MB post if he contests in the state election. According to him, the current MB is considered the No 2 PAS heavyweight in Kedah, while the No 1 spot belongs to Ahmad. However, if Ahmad becomes MB, he sees Muhammad Sanusi behind the scene still pulling the strings.
Another likely MB candidate would be the current state exco cum lawmaker Dr Mohd Hayati Othman for N18 Tokai.
“He could be a potential candidate that the Royals might choose for MB. Muhammad Sanusi’s relationship with the palace is not that good, therefore the Sultan may ask for other candidates for the post.
“But most probably it will be Muhammad Sanusi as Kedahans want a leader who they consider one of them. Someone they can relate to, who can attend weddings and other events held by villagers, even in remote locations.”
N10 Bukit Pinang voter Syafik would also like to see Muhammad Sanusi return as MB. When asked who else might be tipped to be MB, he didn’t have another name to give.
N15 Anak Bukit voter Amir, however, would like someone else to become MB, but did not know of likely candidates for the post. When asked who he would like to see as MB, he said: “Not (Muhammad) Sanusi.”
Despite the speculations, Pokok Sena MP Ahmad had previously said that Muhammad Sanusi will remain as MB if PN wins the state election. “In fact, Muhammad Sanusi’s face will be the ‘poster boy’ in Kedah during the upcoming state election,” said the Kedah PAS commissioner in a statement dated April 17.
- Umno’s Mahdzir acknowledges that Kedah will be given extra attention by the party during the state elections (pic: Bernama)
- Pokok Sena MP Ahmad Yahya might be considered for the MB post if he contests in the state election (pic source: Ahmad Yahya’s Facebook)
- Another likely MB candidate would be the current state exco cum lawmaker Dr Mohd Hayati Othman for N18 Tokai (Source: Perikatan National Kedah’s Facebook)
Shortlisting Candidates
Both PN and PH are currently in the middle of finalising the candidates for the Kedah state election.
According to BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi during his visit to Kedah on April 27, BN and PH have almost finalised the seats distribution negotiation for Kedah. He said the negotiation for seats distribution in the other five states would be concluded when he visits the respective states.
Besides Kedah, five other states — Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Negri Sembilan and Selangor — are due to dissolve their respective state legislative assemblies by the end of next month. PN is also widely tipped to win Kelantan and Terengganu by a landslide, while Penang and Selangor especially are expected to see tight contest between PN and PH.
Kedah Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid had previously said all six states were equally important to the party in the elections, but acknowledged that Kedah would be given extra attention.
The state polls are due to be held by July or August.
- This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition
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