JOHOR BARU: With just days to go before the dates for nomination and polling are announced, the jostling for seats among political parties in Johor has intensified.

       Talk is rife that Umno hopes to contest more seats compared with the 35 it contested in the 14th General Election (GE14), which means seats eyed by MCA and MIC may be affected.

       In GE14, MCA contested 15 seats, MIC contested four and Gerakan two seats. Gerakan has since left Barisan Nasional.

       A Barisan source said that talks were underway among the component parties to find the suitable “win-win” situation in the state election.

       During the launch of Barisan’s election machinery last Friday at an indoor stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi hinted in his speech that his party may “loan” some of its seats, but this was subject to negotiations with the component parties.

       Johor Umno treasurer Datuk Md Jais Sarday said: “Our main aim now is to ensure we win big with the right candidates.”

       Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan is also trying to get all the Opposition parties to work together against Barisan or Perikatan Nasional in either straight or three-cornered fights.

       It is learnt that Pakatan parties are negotiating with Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air.

       “We are looking at offering about six to eight seats to Muda including a safe seat for its president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in the south of the state.

       “We are also negotiating a similar number of seats with Pejuang.

       “This is going to be a crowded election and it is pointless to split up Opposition votes,” said a source from Pakatan.

       Asked about Pejuang wanting to go for at last 42 seats on its own, sources argued that many of its candidates would certainly lose their deposits.

       “Now is not the time to be greedy for seats. Let’s all settle this amicably as each Pakatan party will be offering additional seats from the extra ones they got from places contested by Bersatu in GE14,” the sources said.

       In GE14, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia contested in 18 state seats, DAP took on 14, while Amanah and PKR took on 12 each, all under the Pakatan banner.

       Bersatu’s 18 seats have since been distributed among the remaining Pakatan parties, with DAP eyeing a total of 16 seats, while Amanah and PKR are contesting 20 each.

       Now each party may have to see these extra seats given out to Muda and Pejuang.

       When contacted, Johor Amanah deputy chief Dzulkefly Ahmad said that Pakatan was finalising seat negotiations with all Opposition parties including Muda, Pejuang and possibly Parti Warisan.

       “In GE14, we only finalised seat allocations a few days before polling.

       “This time we have to negotiate with more parties to rope in all the Opposition parties together to avoid ‘friendly fire’,” he added.

       Asked whether Muda and Pejuang will be using the Pakatan logo, he said that they need not use it as they were free to use their own logos.

       DAP and Amanah have chosen several incumbent candidates over the weekend in areas which they consider “safe seats”.

       For Perikatan, which comprises Bersatu, PAS and Gerakan, negotiations were also underway, with Bersatu aiming to contest 31 seats, PAS 15 and Gerakan 10.

       A Perikatan insider said that Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to make an announcement on this soon.