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Malaysia has a total of 222 parliamentary seats up for grabs. A minimum of 112 seats is needed to clinch a simple majority to form a new government.

Observers are expecting an intense contest for the crucial Malay votes in rural and urban seats, as this is likely to be decisive in determining who forms the next government.

Nearly 60 per cent of the 222 parliamentary seats have Malay-Muslims as their majority demographic.

Dr Saravanamuttu said the battles in some areas will be more intense and there are concerns that the ethic Malay vote will be split with the multi-cornered contests.

For urban areas, PH will have upper hand compared to PN and BN, said Dr Lau Zhe Wei, assistant professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia’s Department of Political Science.

UMNO emphasises “a lot on party hierarchy”, said Dr Lau, adding that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and deputy president Mohamad Hasan are ahead of Mr Ismail Sabri in the party.

“According to UMNO's convention and practice, I do not see how the number three can continue to be the prime minister,” he added. “So in this coming election, although they promised (Mr Ismail Sabri) to be the prime minister candidate, I do not think this will be the way.