Tawfik Yaakub of Universiti Malaya pointed out that PKR and DAP have played a significant role in Amanah’s development in Johor, a state where it lacks grassroots support.

He said Amanah should set its ambitions in Johor based on its strength and membership numbers, rather than relying on the backing of other parties.

“To me, that would be the ‘gentlemanly’ approach as opposed to boasting about the strength of other parties,” he told FMT.

He was commenting on Johor Amanah’s announcement yesterday that it plans to contest between 12 and 20 seats in the next state election.

Amanah’s Johor deputy chairman, Dzulkefly Ahmad, reportedly said this decision stems from a lack of direct negotiations between PH and Barisan Nasional in the state.

Last September, Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi said there was no need to set up a unity government, given that the state government was formed before the 15th general election.

Last month, DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook urged his PH allies to stop making calls for Johor to have a unity government similar to other states.

In the 2022 state election, PH allocated 20 seats to Amanah but the party managed to win only one.

Tawfik warned that Amanah’s ambitions could create division within the federal unity government and cause PH to lose more seats.

“It would be better to leave it to the leadership to decide on the seats. There’s no need for state-level leaders to determine the number of seats to contest,” he said.

Ariff Aizuddin Azlan of Universiti Teknologi Mara agreed with Tawfik, saying Amanah should not pressure Umno, as this could affect the PH-BN relationship in Johor.

“If a three-cornered contest occurs, it should be noted that competition could also come from Perikatan Nasional, which consistently targets Malay majority seats,” he said.