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RESEARCHERS AT ISEAS – YUSOF ISHAK INSTITUTE ANALYSE CURRENT EVENTS

Singapore | 4 November 2022

GE15: Parti Amanah Negara’s Strong and Volatile Seats

Mohd Faizal Musa*

Facebook Page of Parti Amanah Negara, Accessed on 1 November 2022.

https://www.facebook.com/amanahnegara.

* Mohd Faizal Musa is Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, and Research
Fellow at the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization (ATMA), National University of
Malaysia (UKM).

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) entered Malaysia’s political scene in 2016 as an

underdog. As a splinter party formed by dissidents from Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS)
and championing a more progressive approach to Islam, Amanah won 11 parliamentary
seats in GE14 in 2018, mostly located on the peninsula’s west coast. It was part of the
Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration during the 22 months that it held power.

• For GE15, Amanah is considered safe in five of the 11 seats it now holds. These seats—
Pulai (Johor), and Hulu Langat, Shah Alam, Kota Raja, and Sepang (all in Selangor)—
are multi-ethnic constituencies with considerable numbers of non-Malay voters, which
were won in GE14 with a large majority, or which had already been in the candidates’
hands since their days in PAS. Support from its PH partners such as Parti Keadilan
Rakyat (PKR) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), played an important role in
Amanah’s success.

• With multi-cornered fights expected in several constituencies in GE15, Amanah has its
work cut out for it. The six seats that are relatively unsafe are Pokok Sena (Kedah),
Parit Buntar and Lumut (Perak), Temerloh (Pahang), Kuala Selangor (Selangor), and
Tampin (Negeri Sembilan).

• Beyond these cases, Amanah has a chance in winning several other seats, such as Kuala
Terengganu (Terengganu), Kota Bharu (Kelantan), Alor Gajah (Melaka), Tasik
Gelugor (Penang), and Titiwangsa (Federal Territory).

• The effect of Malaysia’s lowered voting age on all parties remains unknown, and given
the crowded field populated by coalitions like PH-Amanah, UMNO, Bersatu-PAS and
Pejuang-GTA, one should expect some surprises in the outcome.

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INTRODUCTION

On 16 September 2015, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) was officially formed.1 The party’s
members consisted of those who were previously with Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), but who
were defeated during party elections for their differing approach to Islamist politics. While
PAS remains conservative and exclusivist, Amanah can be characterised as a progressive
Islamist party with reformist aspirations. Six Members of Parliament (MP) and seven state
legislative assemblymen from six states left PAS to join Amanah.2 Later that year, Amanah,
the Democratic Action Party (DAP), and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) joined forces to form
Pakatan Harapan (PH). Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s party, Parti Pribumi
Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), joined the alliance in 2017, while Sabah’s Parti Warisan (Warisan)
allied itself with PH in 2018. The bloc, referred to as PH-Plus, made history when it won
Malaysia’s 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018, securing 121 of parliamentary 222 seats.3
Amanah contributed 11 of those seats.

However, since then, the Malaysian political scene has become more crowded. With the
departure of Bersatu and several PKR MPs from the alliance, the PH administration fell in
March 2020, making way for the formation of Perikatan Nasional (PN), a third bloc in
Malaysian politics. PAS is now part of this coalition. That same year, Mahathir Mohamad left
Bersatu to form his own party, Pejuang.4 There is also Ikatan Demokratik Malaysia (MUDA)
headed by Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who was formerly with Bersatu and who served
as a minister in the PH administration. PH has agreed to an electoral pact with MUDA to
contest in GE15.5

In his 2017 monograph Parti Amanah Negara in Johor: Birth, Challenges and Prospects, Wan
Saiful Wan Jan surmised that Amanah had the potential to win in multi-racial constituencies
where Chinese voters constitute 30 to 45 per cent of the population.6 Although he situated his
argument within the context of Johor, it appeared that his hypothesis held water in the rest of
the country. This was confirmed in GE14, where “95 percent of the ethnic Chinese population
and 70-75 percent of the ethnic Indians voted for PH.”7 To be sure, Amanah also received
significant support from urban Malay voters.8

This now leads to questions about the fate of Amanah in the upcoming GE15, which may
witness multi-cornered fights unless all opposition parties come to a common understanding.
Short of such an agreement, there is doubt that Amanah will be able to defend its 11 seats.

In GE15, Amanah will be contesting in as many as 54 seats. Based on recent experience and
the high probability of multi-cornered fights, the party faces an uphill battle, as demonstrated
in the Johor state election where Amanah dropped from holding nine state assembly seats to
only one.

Nevertheless, the results of GE15 remain unpredictable. This Perspective considers the re-
election prospects of Amanah’s incumbents, and studies the few constituencies that hold out a
relatively positive outlook for the party.

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STABLE SEATS

Of the 11 seats won in GE14, Amanah is arguably rooted in only five of them. There are three
reasons for saying this. Firstly, these are the number of seats which they won with a big
majority. Secondly, the Amanah candidates in these seats, all of whom attained prominence
while they were members of PAS, retained popular support despite their new affiliation.
Finally, the state constituencies within these seats made strong contributions to their victory
and have been occupied either by Amanah, PKR, or DAP. The five strong seats are (P codes
for parliament seats, N for state assembly seats):

1. Pulai P161

The incumbent MP is Salahuddin Ayub, the former Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based
Industry during PH’s administration. He is currently Deputy President of Amanah and a
holding member of the state constituency of N13 Simpang Jeram in Johor.

Salahuddin won this seat in GE14 with a majority of 28,924 votes. He won 55,447 votes against
the United Malays National Organization’s (UMNO) Nur Jazlan Mohamed who received
26,523 votes, and PAS’ Mohd Mazri Yahya, who came third with 4,332 votes.9

2. Hulu Langat P101

The MP is Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus, who is one of the party’s vice presidents. Hasanuddin
won this seat in GE14 with a majority of 25,424 votes. He won 49,004 votes against UMNO’s
Azman Ahmad who received 23,580 votes and PAS’ Che Rosli Che Mat who had 15,663 votes.

One of the state constituencies within the Hulu Langat federal constituency is N23 Dusun Tua,
which DAP’s Edry Faizal Eddy Yusof won with a huge majority in GE14. He received 22,325
votes against UMNO’s Mohd Zin Isa’s 11,903 votes, and PAS’ Razaly Hassan’s 7,771 votes.10
DAP’s hold on Dusun Tua may therefore contribute to Amanah’s strength in Hulu Langat.

A new development is that, in the upcoming GE15, Amanah is sending Mohd Sany Hamzan,
a member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly, to defend the seat.

3. Shah Alam P108

Khalid Abd Samad, a well-known leader of Amanah, has held this seat since GE12. Khalid
was Minister of Federal Territories during PH’s administration. In GE14, he attained a majority
of 33,849 and received a total of 55,949 votes against UMNO’s Azhari Shaari who had 22,100
votes and PAS’ stalwart, Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki, who had 15,194 votes
.
In GE13 he defeated UMNO’s Zulkifli Noordin, winning 49,009 votes against Zulkifli’s
38,070 votes, for a majority of 10,939.11 Two of the state constituencies in Selangor, N40 Kota
Anggerik and N41 Batu Tiga, are both PKR strongholds which have strong support for Khalid
or for anyone replacing him.12

In the upcoming election, Azli Yusof, Khalid’s right-hand man will be contesting here.

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4. Kota Raja P111

The incumbent in Kota Raja is none other than Mohamad Sabu, the President of Amanah and
Minister of Defence during PH’s administration. Mohamad first contested in this seat in GE14,
during which he won 90,697 votes, with a majority of 71,142 votes. He defeated PAS’
Mohamed Diah Baharun who had 19,555 votes, and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate,
Gunalan Velu (from the Malaysian Indian Congress, MIC), who had 17,874 votes.

In the two elections prior to GE14, Kota Raja was represented by a member of PAS’ reformist
bloc, Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, who later became a leader of Amanah’s women’s wing. In 2018
she contested under Amanah in the state constituency of Seri Serdang. 13 Thus, given the
longstanding popularity of Amanah members in Kota Raja, the seat is considered a safe seat
for any Amanah candidate who runs there.

5. Sepang P113

The incumbent in this seat is Mohamed Hanipa Maidin who won for the second time in GE14.
Mohamed Hanipa was Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of legal
affairs during PH’s administration. In 2018, he won 46,740 votes with a 18,705 majority
against UMNO’s Marsum Paing who won 28,035 votes and PAS’ Sabirin Marsono who won
15,882 votes.

However, Hanipa is not in good health and will be giving way to a younger candidate. 14
Amanah Women’s Wing chief, Aiman Athirah Al-Jundi has been confirmed to replace her.

There are three state constituencies within the federal constituency of Sepang in which PH
component parties have a satisfactory majority. These are N54 Tanjong Sepat, N55 Dengkil,
and N56 Sungai Pelek.15

A number of Amanah leaders expressed during fieldwork interviews that all five of the above-
mentioned seats are safe seats for the party.16 Given the confidence that they have in these
seats, Amanah hopes to hold on to the 11 seats that they have, out of the 54 that they will be
contesting in. It is worth noting that Amanah is viewed by some as the party that will fill in the
gap left by Bersatu, as well as the party that can counter PAS’ narrative on Islam.17

It is crucial to note that these are multi-ethnic constituencies. For example, Pulai comprises of
39.4 per cent Chinese voters and 10.5 per cent Indian voters.18 Kota Raja has 27.8 per cent
Chinese voters and 28.1 per cent Indian voters.19 Similarly, Sepang has 20.2 per cent Chinese
voters and 14.2 per cent Indian voters.20

IN HOT WATER

In contrast to the five safe seats, Amanah’s remaining six seats are more volatile and vulnerable
in a multi-cornered fight. This is due to several factors. Firstly, these constituencies comprise
of a smaller number of non-Malay voters. Secondly, PAS or UMNO has had a persistent strong

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presence in these constituencies. Thirdly, UMNO or PN may be fielding strategically strong

candidates for these seats.

These seats are:

1. Pokok Sena P008

The incumbent MP is Mahfuz Omar, who is one of Amanah’s vice presidents and who served
as Deputy Minister of Human Resources during PH’s administration. Of the five times that he
had competed in this seat, he won three times.

Pokok Sena constituency was established in 1995, in the year of GE09. That year saw Mahfuz
losing to BN, with the former receiving 20,667 votes and UMNO candidate Wan Hanafiah
Wan Mat Saman winning 25,285 votes.

In GE10 in 1999, Mahfuz won the seat, getting 27,466 against Wan Hanafiah’s 23,829 votes.
BN successfully wrested back Pokok Sena in GE11, with Mahfuz attracting only 22,440 votes
against UMNO’s Abdul Rahman Ibrahim’s 29,740 votes.

Mahfuz reclaimed the seat in GE12 in 2008, by winning 29,6g87 votes against Abdul
Rahman’s 23,956 votes. He retained the seat in GE13 with 36,198 votes against UMNO’s
Shahlan Ismail’s 32,263 votes. His winning streak continued in GE14, when he extended the
winning margin to 5,558 with 28,959 votes against PAS (23,401 votes) and UMNO (18,390
votes).

From these numbers, it is evident that Mahfuz has been ahead in these fights by approximately
three to five thousand votes, whether they are one-on-one or multi-cornered fights. In the case
of Pokok Sena, this difference in the number of votes may be attributed to the fact that two of
its state constituencies, N009 Bukit Lada and N10 Bukit Pinang are led by PAS but only with
a small margin.21 Furthermore, his ability to retain Pokok Sena in 2018 could have been due to
the fact that DAP won N11 Derga in 2013 and 2018. Whatever the case, this seat is considered
volatile, and there is no certainty that Mahfuz will retain it if he runs in GE15.

2. Parit Buntar P057

The incumbent MP of this seat is Mujahid Yusof Rawa, another of Amanah’s vice presidents.
He served as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Religious Affairs during
PH’s administration. Prior to him, the seat was occupied by PAS’ Hasan Mohamed Ali after
GE10, and was reclaimed by UMNO in GE11.22 Mujahid took the seat in GE12 in 2008 with
a majority of 7,551, winning 21,221 votes against UMNO’s Abdul Rahman Suliman’s 13,670
votes.

In GE13, his majority rose to 8,476 when he gained 26,015 votes against UMNO’s Mua’amar
Ghadafi Jamal Jamaludin, who received 17,539 votes. In GE14 in 2018, Mujahid won with a
majority of 3,098, gaining 16,753 votes against UMNO’s Abdul Puhat Mat Nayan’s 13,655
votes and PAS’ Ahmad Azhar Haji Sharin’s 12,312 votes. One possible reason Mujahid
managed to retain this seat was because two state constituencies under Parit Buntar were led

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by PH component parties. These are N09 Kuala Kurau which has been held by PKR since
2008, and N08 Titi Serong which Amanah won in 2018, although only with a majority of 140.23
However, in 2020, their representative Hasnul Zulkarnain Abd Munaim left Amanah to join
Bersatu, and in 2021 declared himself an independent candidate.24

Parit Buntar is considered an unsafe seat as Titi Serong voters might be the deciding factor in
a multi-cornered fight. Nevertheless, Mujahid may retain Parit Buntar, and the likelihood of
this may increase since PH appears determined to gain the parliamentary upper hand in the
state of Perak, with Anwar Ibrahim running in Tambun.

3. Lumut P074

The existing MP is Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli, who is currently Amanah’s secretary-general and
who served as Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development during PH’s administration.
In GE14, Mohd Hatta defeated UMNO’s Zambry Abd Kadir (who was Chief Minister of
Perak) with a slim majority of 400 votes. Mohd Hatta received 21,955 votes while Zambry got
21,555 votes. PAS’ Mohd Zamri Ibrahim received 10,135 votes.

Lumut is a highly contested seat. In GE13, PKR’s Mohamad Imran Abd Hamid won this seat
with 40,308 votes against BN’s Kong Cho Ha who gained 32,140 votes. In GE12, Kong won
with 25,698 votes, defeating PKR’s Suwardi Sapuan who had 25,400 votes. This gave Kong a
slim majority of 298 votes.

Nevertheless, there are a number of factors that may give the advantage to Hatta in this seat.
Firstly, Hatta is born in Sitiawan, near Lumut. Secondly, Lumut is home to the Royal
Malaysian Navy (RMN) military base. Data from GE14 show that there were 11,223 early
voters who were RMN personnel.25 Thus, given the recent controversy concerning the RM9.13
billion Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) contract which involves the RMN, Boustead Naval
Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), and the current government, Hatta might stand to retain the seat.26
Thirdly, one of the state constituencies under Lumut, N51 Pasir Panjang, is occupied by a well-
known local, Yahaya bin Mat Nor. He won the seat in 2018 with 14,123 votes against UMNO’s
Rashidi Ibrahim who got 12,904 votes and PAS’ Rohawati Abidin who got 7,795 votes.

The challenge for Hatta will be Zambry Abd Kadir, should the latter decide to run again. It
should be noted that Zambry has a launching pad as he also occupies N52 Pangkor, which is
within the Lumut parliamentary seat. He won that state seat with a majority vote of 1,626,
winning 8,378 votes against PAS’ Zainal Abidin Saad’s 3,638 votes and Bersatu’s Nordin
Ahmad Ismail’s 6,752 votes. While Bersatu and PAS are now in the same camp and will field
only one candidate among them, Hatta might instead have to face an additional candidate from
Pejuang.

4. Temerloh P088

In GE14, 70-year-old Mohd Anuar Tahir, one of Amanah’s founding members and former
secretary-general, was parachuted to run in Temerloh. The constituency had been considered
an UMNO fortress, but in GE13, Nasrudin Hassan from PAS had defeated Saifuddin Abdullah
with a small majority of 1,070 votes.

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Although an unknown to the constituents, Mohd Anuar managed to get 23,998 votes to win the
seat with a majority of 1,904 votes. UMNO’s Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin had received 22,094
votes while PAS’ Md Jusoh Darus got 14,734 votes. Mohd Anuar was Deputy Minister of
Works during PH’s administration.27

However, there are concerns about Amanah’s ability to defend the seat. At least one state
constituency in Temerloh has been comfortably won by UMNO. N31 Lanchang is traditionally
an UMNO seat; it is now represented by Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin, who is part of the Pahang
State Executive Council. This may give him greater visibility. N32 Kuala Semantan was
previously held by PAS but was snatched by UMNO in GE14 with a majority of 474 votes.

Amanah is fielding Mohd Hasbie Muda, its current Youth Chief. Hasbie can retain this seat if
voters in the state constituency of N30 Mentakab continue to throw their support behind DAP,
as they did in GE14. 28 Mentakab has a large number of Chinese voters and this may help
Amanah retain Temerloh if they field a strong candidate there. It is expected that concurrent
state elections to be held in Pahang during GE15 will help to boost support for the
parliamentary candidates. For example, the thrill of a fight between heavyweights Young
Syefura Othman of DAP and Liow Tiong Lai of BN in Bentong P089 may spill over to seats
in which Amanah will be contesting, including Temerloh, Bentong’s neighbouring
constituency.

5. Kuala Selangor P096

The MP of this seat is Dzulkefly Ahmad, a highly-praised 66-year-old toxicologist who served
as the Minister of Health during PH’s administration.

Dzulkefly first captured the seat with a slim majority of 862 votes in GE12 in 2008, when he
was a member of PAS. He won 18,796 votes against UMNO’s Jahaya Ibrahim’s 17,934 votes.
UMNO recaptured the seat in GE13, when Irmohizam Ibrahim won 27,500 votes, just 460
more than Dzulkefly’s 27,040 votes.

Dzulkefly reversed this result in GE14 and won 29,842 votes against Irmohizam’s 21,344 votes
and PAS’ Haji Fakaruddin’s 8,535 votes. This time, he won with a larger majority of 8,498
votes. Three state constituencies under Kuala Selangor were grabbed by PH. PKR won N10
Bukit Melawati and N11 Ijok, while Bersatu won N12 Jeram.29
However, despite that success, it will be an uphill battle for an Amanah candidate to win this
seat in GE15. Rumour has it that UMNO plans to field PN’s Minister of Finance, Tengku
Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, there.30 This spells additional trouble for competing candidates,
especially since Zafrul is known to be close to the monarch.

6. Tampin P133

The current MP of Tampin is Dr Hasan Bahrom, an Islamic scholar who joined Amanah in
2016. In GE14, Hasan received 22,435 votes against UMNO’s Shaziman Abu Mansor who
received 21,433 votes and PAS’ Abdul Halim Abu Bakar who received 4,958 votes. Prior to
Amanah’s victory, Shaziman had held this seat since GE10 in 1999. For GE15, Muhammad

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Faiz Fadzil, member of Penang State Legislative Assembly for Permatang Pasir will be running
here.

History illustrates Tampin as a safe seat for UMNO. In GE11, Shaziman won the seat with
23,936 votes against PAS’ Abdul Razakek Abdul Rahim who received only 5,852 votes. This
was a large majority of 18,084 votes. In GE13, Shaziman won 29,390 votes against Abdul
Razakek’s 18,228 votes. It was again a large majority, this time of 11,162 votes.

There are currently three state constituencies under Tampin. These are N34 Gemas which has
traditionally been occupied by UMNO with a large majority; N35 Gemencheh which was won
in GE14 by Bersatu’s Saiful Adly Abd Wahab with a slim majority of 351 votes; and N36
Repah which was won by DAP’s Veerapan Superamaniam with a majority of 4,758 votes.
DAP’s success in this seat in GE14 could be attributed to the significant number of non-Malay
voters there. It is the only safe seat for PH in Tampin.

A win for Amanah is not impossible as there is a large number of non-Malay voters in these
seats. For example, Lumut P074 comprises of 14.8 per cent Chinese voters and 11.4 percent
Indian voters; Pokok Sena P008 has 15.3 per cent Chinese voters, and 2.4 per cent Indian
voters;31 Parit Buntar P057 has 25.6 per cent Chinese voters and 4.7 per cent Indian voters;
while Kuala Selangor P096 has 12.8 per cent Chinese voters and 20.9 per cent Indian voters.32

OTHER POTENTIAL SEATS

There are other must-watch seats where strong Amanah candidates have a chance. These have
either historically been held by a current Amanah leader when they were in PAS, or may be up
for grabs due to several uncertainties. Such seats include Kuala Terengganu P036 and Kota
Bharu P021 which were contested in GE14 by Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad and
Husam Musa respectively. Raja Kamarul will make another attempt, while in Kota Bharu,
Hafidzah Mustakim, a well-known medical doctor is the flag bearer.

Adly Zahari, who was Chief Minister of Melaka from May 2018 to March 2020 may have a
chance in the state, and is regarded as a well-performing leader. He will be contesting in Alor
Gajah P135 which is currently held by Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof of Bersatu.

Another possible seat for Amanah to grab is Tasik Gelugor P042 in Penang. This seat was won
by UMNO’s Shabudin Yahya in GE14 with a small majority of 81 votes. He won 18,547 votes
against Bersatu’s Marzuki Yahya who had 18,466 votes and PAS’ Rizal Hafiz Roslan who
gained 14,891 votes. 33 Amanah is assigning Nik Abdul Razak Nik Md Ridzuan, Amanah
Deputy Youth Chief to contest here.

Amanah is also strategising to field top party leaders such as Khalid Samad to wrestle
Titiwangsa P119 away from Bersatu. This will be an interesting seat to watch as UMNO may
once again field Johari bin Abdul Ghani, an MP who held the seat for only one term before he
was defeated in GE14. Titiwangsa has historically been a highly-contested seat which saw
battles between UMNO and PAS. In GE13, Johari defeated PAS here with a small majority of
866 votes, while in GE12, as a progressive female leader from PAS, Lo’Lo’ Mohamad Ghazali
had unexpectedly won the seat.

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CONCLUSION

As noted earlier, Wan Saiful Wan Jan surmised that Amanah was capable of winning in multi-
ethnic constituencies which comprise of at least 30-45 per cent Chinese voters. He further noted
that in the context of Johor, Amanah would need a large sum of Malay votes in order to gain a
few seats in GE14. He was proven right when Amanah won nine out of the 12 seats that they
contested in Johor’s state election. They were also victorious at the parliamentary level,
winning Pulai with an overwhelming majority.

However, the Malay vote continues to be crucial and will see an even greater split in GE15. In
2018, “the ethnic Malay vote was split between PH (25%-30%), BN (35%-40%) and PAS
(30%-33%).”34 However, this year, the vote will be split between UMNO, PH, PN, and GTA.
This might make things more difficult for Amanah, as GTA’s presence could cause further
splits in votes. Nevertheless, if non-Malay voters continue to reject the Malay elite as
represented by UMNO, Bersatu and PAS the way they did in 2018, Amanah could survive
GE15 comfortably, albeit with reduced seats.

Apart from the ethnic composition of constituencies, another factor that may affect the outcome
of GE15 is Undi18 which lowers the voting age from 21 to 18. In GE14, young voters made
up 41% of the total voter base, and they played no small role in toppling the BN government.35
Thus, the addition of more young voters to the voter base may lead to unexpected outcomes.

Amanah will be contesting in as many as 54 seats in GE15. Their work seems cut out for
them,36 in fact, more than half of these seats, being located in the Malay heartland, will be
tough-going for them.

ENDNOTES

1
Maszlee Malik. “Rethinking the Role of Islam in Malaysian Politics: A Case Study of Parti Amanah
Negara (Amanah)”, Islam and Civilisational Renewal 8, no. 4 (2018): 459.
2
Ibid.
3
Andreas Ufen. “Opposition in Transition: Pre-Electoral Coalitions and the 2018 Electoral
Breakthrough in Malaysia”, Democratization 27, no. 2 (2020): 179.
4
Together with Barisan Jemaah Islamiah See-Malaysia (BERJASA), Parti Bumiputera Perkasa
Malaysia (PUTRA), and Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (IMAN), Mahathir formed a new
coalition called Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA), which he leads.
5
Junaidi Awang Besar. “Evolusi dan Dinamika Geopolitik dan Sosiopolitik Gerakan Politik di
Malaysia”, Jurnal Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan 18, no. 2 (2021): 21-23.
6
Wan Saiful Wan Jan. Parti Amanah Negara in Johor: Birth, Challenges and Prospects, Trends in
Southeast Asia, no. 9/2017 (Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, 2017), p. 28.
7
Andreas Ufen, “Opposition in Transition”, 179.
8
Muhamad Helmy Sabtu and Muhamad Nadzri Mohamed Noor. Persaingan Ideologi PAS & Amanah
Dalam Politik dan Pilihan Raya. (Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2018), p. 139-
140.
9
Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and G. Manimaran. Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia: Tanding Pilih
Menang Tadbir (Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Universiti Malaya, 2021), p. 601.

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10
Ibid., pp. 489-490.
11
“Perkasa Veep Zulkifli Noordin Takes on Khalid Samad”, Malaysiakini, 16 April 2013,
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/226935 (accessed 10 October 2022).
12
Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and G. Manimaran, Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia, pp. 503-504.
13
Irwan Muhammad Zain. “Pakatan Harapan Letak Mat Sabu di Kota Raja”, Astro Awani, 22 April
2018, https://www.astroawani.com/berita-politik/pakatan-harapan-letak-mat-sabu-di-kota-raja-173560
(accessed 10 October 2022).
14
“Hanipa Pengsan Ketika Himpunan Bulanan JPM”, Malaysiakini, 9 July 2018.
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/433293 (accessed 15 October 2022). See also Bernama,
“Pengsan Dalam Dewan, Ahli Parlimen Sepang Dikejarkan Ke HKL”, Mstar, 4 April 2016,
https://www.mstar.com.my/lokal/semasa/2016/04/04/pengsan-dalam-dewan (accessed 15 October
2022).
15
Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and G. Manimaran, 2021. Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia, pp. 513-514.
16
Author’s interviews with Amanah leaders: (a) Adly Zahari, 20 October 2022. He is one of
Amanah’s Vice Presidents; (b) Muhammad Faiz Fadzil, 16 September 2022. He is a member of
Penang’s State Legislative Assembly, representing Permatang Pasir; (c) Salahuddin Ayub, 5 June
2022. He is Amanah’s Deputy President, and the incumbent MP for Pulai.
17“The Progressive Islamists: Can Amanah Triumph Against PAS?” Fulcrum Commentary, 25 October 2022,

https://fulcrum.sg/the-progressive-islamists-can-amanah-triumph-against-pas/, (accessaed 26 November 2022).

18
Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and G. Manimaran, Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia, p. 601.
19
Ibid., p. 508.
20
Ibid., p. 513.
21
Ibid., pp. 297-299.
22
“YB Datuk Dr Hassan Ali”, Perak Today, 21 December 2011,
https://peraktoday.com.my/2011/12/yb-datuk-dr-hassan-ali/ (accessed 16 October 2022).
23
Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and G. Manimaran, Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia, p. 405-406.
24
Faris Danial Razi, “Bersatu Pecat Adun Titi Serong, Hasnul Zulkarnain”, Astro Awani, 23 March
2021, https://www.astroawani.com/berita-politik/bersatu-pecat-adun-titi-serong-hasnul-zulkarnain-
289623 (accessed 16 October 2022).
25
“Early Voting in Lumut, Perak”, The Sun Daily, 5 May 2018,
https://www.thesundaily.my/archive/early-voting-lumut-perak-YUARCH545426 (accessed 17
October 2022).
26
“Spotlight on the LCS Scandal”, The Edge Markets, 27 August 2022,
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/spotlight-lcs-scandal (accessed 17 October 2022).
27
Cynthia Ng, “Anuar Tahir: Former Agitator, Now Legislator”, Astro Awani, 6 July 2018,
ttps://www.astroawani.com/berita-dunia/anuar-tahir-former-agitator-now-legislator-223967 (accessed
16 October 2022).
28
Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and G. Manimaran, Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia, pp. 464-645.
29
Ibid., pp. 480-482.
30
Ahmad Fadhullah Adnan, “Tengku Zafrul Mungkin Bertanding di Kuala Selangor”, Utusan
Malaysia, 2 August 2022, https://www.utusan.com.my/nasional/2022/08/tengku-zafrul-mungkin-
bertanding-di-kuala-selangor/ (accessed 17 October 2022).
31
Ibid., p. 297.
32
Ibid., p. 405, p. 480.
33
Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and G. Manimaran, Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia, p. 374.
34
Andreas Ufen, “Opposition in Transition”, p. 179.
35
Sara Chinnasamy and Norminaliza Mohamed Azmi, "Malaysian 14th General Election: Young
Voters & Rising Political Participation," The Journal of Social Sciences Research no. 4 (2018): 125.
125-138
36
Bernama, “Amanah to contest 54 parliamentary seats in GE15”, The Edge Markets, 30 October
2022, https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/amanah-contest-54-parliamentary-seats-ge15
11
 ISSUE: 2022 No. 107
ISSN 2335-6677

(accessed 17 October 2022). To an understanding of Malay heartland voters, see Serina Rahman,
2019. ‘The Rural Malay Voter in GE-14: Expectations, Surprise, and Misgivings’. In The Defeat of
Barisan Nasional: Missed Signs or late Surge, edited by Francis E. Hutchinson and Lee Hwok Aun.
(Singapore: ISEAS Publishing), p. 153-190.

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