On paper, Bersatu appears to be on a suicide mission in the 14th general election. Pakatan Harapan has tasked the party with fielding 52 parliamentary candidates, mostly in traditional Umno strongholds.

This includes Pekan, which Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has represented for nine consecutive terms since 1976.

Then there is Kota Tinggi, where BN's Noor Ehsanuddin Mohd Harun Narrashid won 82.4 percent of the total votes cast in 2013.

A closer scrutiny of the seats allocated to Bersatu reveals that 23 of the 52 constituencies are "marginal seats."

In this report, "marginal seats" are defined as those won with a majority of less than 56 percent of the votes cast...