PETALING JAYA: Selangor PAS will contest 17 seats in the next Selangor state election, and the party is prepared to contest more constituencies to assist Perikatan Nasional (PN) to capture the Selangor state government.

Selangor PAS chief Datuk Ab Halim Tamuri said the current political landscape and voter sentiment are highly unpredictable and very different from before, but the party remains confident and will do its utmost, working hand in hand with other PN component parties to achieve victory.

“In the previous state election, PAS contested 17 seats. However, the allocation of seats for the next state election will not be decided by Selangor PAS alone—we will leave it to the PN leadership to decide.

“Of course, we hope to contest in safe seats and continue with the 17 constituencies, but we are also ready to contest more, if necessary,” he said.

Abdul Halim revealed that the party had already identified its “focus constituencies” for the upcoming election, particularly those where the majority margin was narrow in the last state polls, including the Taman Templer state seat, where PAS’ Zaidy Abdul Talib lost by a slim majority of 467 votes.

Ab Halim believes that Malaysian politics is undergoing changes toward greater maturity and transparency.

With shifting voter tendencies and attitudes, and the younger generation holding different political views, he welcomes this transformation and remains optimistic about the next election.

He also expressed his agreement that holding federal and state elections simultaneously is more efficient, as it allows for better coordination, easier management of candidates and campaign teams, and significant cost savings.

Holding them separately, he said, would often exhaust the teams and be financially draining.

Ab Halim was leading a PAS delegation to visit Sin Chew Daily in conjunction with the Mooncake Festival last Monday.

To boost PAS’ winning chances in the next Selangor election, Selangor PAS has earlier publicly urged voters originally from PAS stronghold states such as Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, who are now residing long-term in Selangor, to update their voter address to Selangor.

Ab Halim clarified that he was not calling on voters to change their addresses arbitrarily, but merely suggesting that those who live and work in Selangor should update their voter registration to reflect their actual places of residence.

This, he said, would help them avoid the inconvenience of having to travel long distances across states to vote on polling day.

He said with a smile that the suggestion had received a lot of positive feedback, with some voters saying it was a good idea that would spare them from traffic jams and long trips they usually face when returning to their hometowns to vote.