A Selangor under DAP?

With the news now out that an additional eight seats being contested under DAP, we will be looking at a state assembly with this party being in the majority in the near future.

As such, can we expect a DAP-run Selangor by the next general election?

Honestly, I personally would not mind such. If anything, it would ensure no more "Langkah" shenanigans by PKR.

Selangor is the sustainable cash cow of Malaysia, contributing a fifth of the national gross domestic product (GDP) and is the most populated state, most urbanised in the federation.

It also has the highest median income in the country outside of Putrajaya.

In the same breath, I would say it is perhaps the weirdest state in form of governance today, where highways can be approved "in principle" and menteri besar can be deposed by someone who does exactly what the predecessor did albeit through two deficit budgets.

All the above being said, we do have some contradictions. Urbanisation unfortunately does not mean the state is more religiously liberal.

In fact, we may have a large population of conservatives, which is why Selangor is known also for the growth of all things Islamic, from food to fashion.

Also, Isma for all its conservative Islamic views is centred in Selangor as well. At the same time, the state is also a hotbed in terms of membership for Perkasa under Datuk Ibrahim Ali.

While it has multiple tertiary education institutes, the largest one in Selangor remains Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), which produces some 51,000 graduates nationwide with two campuses, on undergraduate studies within the state.

A DAP-led state government will be tough to swallow simply because it is seen as a non-Malay party. Quite frankly, having two Malays joining is an event for a press conference kind of exacerbates the situation.

This is perhaps why someone like the now Singapore-based former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim insisted on the party highlighting what it would do for the Malays. It is good advice, if it wishes to win Selangor and run it.

And the biggest factor in their favour is that their partners in the newly formed Pakatan Harapan are weak.

Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) is too weak and too new to be seen as a kingmaker for now, and PKR is stuck within itself on multiple platforms.

Then there is the internal dispute between all three members, between Amanah being stuck in firming their existence, PKR having disputes with DAP's Tony Pua, and DAP unhappy with PKR's deputy president/Selangor menteri besar insisting on having a government inclusive of former partner, PAS.

For those keeping count, this is the third time that a PAS-DAP schism has happened in nearly 17 years of working together on-and-off again since 1998.

But at the same time, my interest is piqued because DAP would actually run Selangor better from economic point of view if they run it as efficiently as they do Penang.

And personally, they had little issue working with the likes of a corporate headman in the form of the deposed Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

I do have concerns though.

For one thing, it is the diversity of Selangor, which means that DAP will need to convince a Malay majority state on a whole that they can cater to needs and wants of a huge Malay population.

This is basically what Zaid asked before; what's in it for the Malays?

At the same time, DAP will need to fight against their own allies – PKR and Amanah – who may or may not want the eight assembly seats they are targeting.

It has been rather quiet on these fronts.

But most of all, it is the game of numbers and it is a clever one. Is DAP objective in contending these eight seats basically to ensure an Umno over PAS win in all of them?

A DAP candidate in eight Malay majority seats contended by both PAS and Umno might just lead to an Umno win.

And while that will do nothing much to the Pakatan Harapan majority state, it will allow both a stronger opposition and a weak PAS, ensuring a proper Pakatan Harapan state government in the next general election.

Basically, an "Asalkan Bukan PAS" strategy.

Or it might just be total cockiness of DAP being drunk on power as highlighted by a recent letter by Adli Ghazi to The Malaysian Insider.

While The Malaysian Insider's news editor Amin Iskandar believes this move will weaken PKR, I believe it will depend on the endgame.

If PKR prefers Parliament over ruling individual states, it seems DAP do not mind acquiescing to such as a trade.

But in the end, it is once again up to Malaysians themselves, in this case the people of Selangor to decide.

For myself, I wouldn't mind. – November 3, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.