SELANGOR Umno has dismissed a claim that Barisan Nasional (BN) is demanding that Pakatan Harapan (PH) allow it to contest 17 seats in the coming state election.

Selangor Umno committee member Jamal Yunos said BN, of which Umno is a component, simply suggested the number of seats the coalition could contest to PH as they were allies in the unity government.

“We (Umno-BN) are not demanding 17 seats. What is most important is the continuity of the government in Selangor after the state polls,” he told FMT.

Jamal said Umno and BN were not concerned about the number of seats they contested as what is more important is how many seats they could win

He said seat negotiations between BN and PH were running smoothly, adding that there were no issues concerning rivalries or claims over specific seats.

Jamal said he expected Umno to contest 10 state seats in Selangor.

“Some seats will be exchanged between Umno-BN and PH, with each party contesting in areas it believes it can win.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that if Umno won in a particular constituency (in the previous election), it will contest there again. The seat allocations are interchangeable.”

He said if Umno felt it would struggle to win in a specific seat, it could swap that seat with PH for another, adding that the same principle applied to PH.

Besides Selangor, state polls are also due to be held in Kedah, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan and Terengganu within the next three months as the respective state legislative assemblies come to the end of their terms.