PAS’ 16-seat gamble in Melaka signals growing distance from Bersatu

PAS’ 16-seat gamble in Melaka signals growing distance from Bersatu

WHILE THE significance of PAS’ targeted 16 seats in the Melaka state election might elude most Malaysians, a subtle shift is happening in the background.


This news comes at the backdrop of former opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin who is expected to announce his “new party” next month.


He claims to already have membership numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

According to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s political analyst Mazlan Ali, this signals that the Islamic party is putting more weight on Hamzah’s camp, at the expense of Bersatu.

He pointed out that PAS doubled the number of seats it contested in the 2021 Melaka polls, from eight to 16. Note that in the 2021 Melaka polls, PAS contested eight seats under the PN banner, while Bersatu vied for 15, and Gerakan five.


Mazlan said ties between PAS and Bersatu have grown increasingly strained, citing the prolonged impasse over the PN’s chairmanship and continuing disputes over the opposition leader’s post.

Earlier, Hamzah also reminded that the position of opposition leader does not belong exclusively to any individual, but is instead determined by the strength of support among opposition Members of Parliament.

“Within today’s opposition bloc, there are three main groups: PAS, Bersatu and the Independents,” he said.


“It is the Members of Parliament from these three blocs who will decide who the next opposition leader will be before Parliament reconvenes,” he continued. —May 1, 2026