KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — The so-called "green wave” phenomenon referring to the surge in Malay-Muslim conservatism as championed by Perikatan Nasional (PN), is just a scare tactic being used to keep ethnic Chinese voters from supporting the political coalition, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said today.

The Selangor PN leader dismissed this description of the "green wave” and instead pointed that the coalition’s policies had benefited the local Chinese community when it was the federal government.

"Don’t be too scared of the so-called green wave. These are scare tactics to make sure Chinese stay away from PN.

"Look at our economic policies during Covid-19. Most of the beneficiaries are Chinese players. We helped thousands of SMEs. We gave wage subsidies to companies mostly owned by Chinese.

"Our policies transcend race and religion,” he told reporters here after a meeting with the Concorde Club, a regular gathering of senior editors, today.

The "green wave” is named after the green colour associated with PN component party PAS, and was coined after GE15 results that saw the Islamist party and its partner Bersatu sweep not just the east coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu but also Kedah and Perlis on the north-west coast and make inroads into other states in the peninsula.

Azmin was also asked about PN's chances in Selangor; he replied that he believes it can sweep up to 35 of the 59 state seats in the state.

"We are confident of winning 33 to 35 seats. Not only Malay seats but we are making inroads into Chinese majority seats.

"Based on our polls we have made slight progress in support from Chinese voters but we have made significant progress among Indians,” he said.

He noted that 39 of the 56 state seats in Selangor are Malay majority seats or where Malay voters account for more than 65 per cent of the electorate there.

Azmin also said PN's focus for Selangor is on all economic matters.

"It is our conviction that Selangor is a microcosm of Malaysia and represents all races and religions. We need Selangor to remain an economic powerhouse and not to be over dependent on foreign workers,” he said.

The Concorde Club is initiated by senior editors in Kuala Lumpur and is a forum where selected speakers give their views on current issues.