By Sulyn Chong
SHAH ALAM, Nov 18 — The 15th Malaysia General Election Survey conducted by the Merdeka Centre For Opinion Research has indicated that Selangor’s Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) is expected to capture 17 parliamentary seats, while four seats are said to be too close to determine.
Similarly, it foresees Perikatan Nasional (PN) attaining one seat out of the 22 seats contested in the state.
Merdeka Centre said Pakatan Harapan is expected to capture 82 seats overall in GE15, while PN will obtain 43 seats, and Barisan Nasional (BN) 15 certain seats out of the 222 seats contested nationwide.
“We note the tight contest in this election has meant the competition for many seats will be very close among the parties,” it said.
Here is a list of the 45 seats which the research body considers to be too-close-to call, i.e., with vote margins of less than five per cent:
- Selangor (four): Sungai Besar, Tanjung Karang, Kuala Selangor, and Kapar.
- Kuala Lumpur (one): Titiwangsa.
- Perlis (two): Padang Besar and Kangar.
- Kedah (three): Kuala Kedah, Merbok, and Kulim Bandar Baru.
- Penang (one): Kepala Batas.
- Perak (eight): Gerik, Lenggong, Parit Buntar, Kuala Kangsar, Parit, Tapah, Lumut, and Bagan Datuk.
- Pahang (seven): Cameron Highlands, Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, Paya Besar, Kuala Krau, Temerloh, and Bentong.
- Negeri Sembilan (two): Jelebu and Jempol.
- Melaka (two): Masjid Tanah and Jasin.
- Johor (four): Ayer Hitam, Simpang Renggam, Pontian, and Tanjung Piai.
- Sabah (eight): Kudat, Putatan, Penampang, Tenom, Pensiangan, Libaran, Batu Sapi, and Tawau.
- Sarawak (three): Lubok Antu, Saratok, and Julau.
The survey was conducted from November 3 to November 18, with a total of 1,203 respondents aged 18 and above. It is comprised of 62 per cent Malay, 29 per cent Chinese, and nine per cent Indian, who were interviewed via fixed lines and mobile phones.
Respondents were selected based on random stratified sampling along age group, ethnicity, gender, as well as the states where they vote, and were sampled from each of the 165 parliamentary constituencies in Peninsular Malaysia. It is important to note the voter turnout and party choice estimates listed in the results were derived from the survey data collected from November 16 until noon today.
