KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Malay support will likely swing from Umno towards Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the upcoming state elections, according to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

Ahmad Faizal believes the Malays will shift their support as Umno is now working with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form government not only at the federal level but also in the states that Barisan Nasional used to control, which he claimed goes against the heart of the nationalist party’s fundamental principles.

"It is evident in the last general election result where ethnic Malay support began to swing towards PN, but when Umno became part of the government, this incited anger among the Malays and many wished to make a U-turn now.

"If we observe, the rural seats which belonged to Umno's stronghold previously, we managed to win them in GE15. So I am confident this moment will continue until the upcoming state elections,” he told Utusan Malaysia in an article published today.

Despite that, Ahmad Faizal admitted that it would not be a cake walk for PN in the upcoming state elections, putting it down to the skewed narrative of PAS as an extremist party.

He said it had been successful to a certain degree among non-Muslim voters in the country.

"Those claiming if PN wins, we will rule by the Taliban way. Their propaganda has successfully struck fear in non-Malay voters where in fact what happened in Terengganu and Kelantan is nothing as claimed,” he was quoted as saying.

Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, which are controlled by PH, and Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, governed by PAS, are due to hold state elections this year which marks the five-year expiry of their mandates.