Melaka a testing ground for Umno-Bersatu fight, say analysts

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: If state assembly elections are called in Melaka, the battle will be a litmus test for when Umno and Bersatu square off at the next general election, say two political analysts.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said the only way out of the political crisis in the state was for state elections to be held – at which the lines between Umno and Bersatu would be drawn.

“If it is a free-for-all, the people will review the (Umno versus Bersatu) results and strategise for the next general election,” Chin told FMT.

Speculation about elections in Melaka arose when four state assemblymen said yesterday they had retracted their support for chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali.

The four included Umno Sungai Udang assemblyman Idris Haron, a former former chief minister, who declared that the state government had collapsed.

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