KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) cannot afford to lose Selangor in the state election that must be called this year as it would impact the coalition’s standing at the federal level, Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said.

Amirudin, who is Selangor menteri besar and the state PH chief, told The Straits Times in an interview published yesterday that the Selangor PH campaign will focus with its former political rivals-turned-allies in the Barisan Nasional (BN) for stability at both the state and federal governments.

"Selangor can’t afford to fail. If we fail, there will be a trickle effect on the federal government,” he was quoted as saying.

The PKR-led Selangor government last week accepted BN assemblymen as backbenchers.

The move comes ahead of the state election speculated to be called in July, where the ruling coalition will likely be facing off against the new Perikatan Nasional (PN) Opposition front headed by Bersatu and PAS.

"We have to learn from previous mistakes. We have to learn from the failure of the PN model, which is based on distrust. They assembled as one at the federal level, but at the state level, they were against each other,” Amirudin was quoted as saying.

The 43-year-old told the Singapore newspaper that he is not overly worried about the perceived new wave of support for PN.

He expressed confidence that voters will continue to support PH in Selangor as the coalition chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is now prime minister of the whole country.

"We have dealt with multiple crises in one term – the political crisis, the climate change crisis with flooding, and the economic crisis. We have shown the people of Selangor that this administration is agile and resilient,” Amirudin was quoted as saying.

The Selangor MB since 2018 also said he hopes to have another term heading the state government to achieve his vision and projects focusing on environmental and climate change issues.

"I need one more term to make sure everything I have envisioned is workable,” he told the newspaper.

Amirudin said that his plans for three main development regions in Selangor – the Sabak Bernam development area in the north, the South Selangor Integrated Development Region, and the Selangor Maritime Gateway meant to rejuvenate the state’s main river and mitigate floods – need one more term to be realised.