PETALING JAYA: PAS is negotiating seat allocations with Barisan Nasional (BN) ahead of the Negeri Sembilan state election, party president Abdul Hadi Awang says.
He said PAS had agreed in principle for BN to defend the 14 seats it currently holds, while the Islamic party would contest the three seats it previously won.
The remaining 17 seats will be decided through negotiations between the two parties, Sinar Harian reported him as saying.
“Yes, we are working towards cooperating with BN. We previously worked together to take over the state government through statutory declarations, but unfortunately two Bersatu assemblymen withdrew their support,” he was quoted as saying.
“BN already has 14 seats and we (Perikatan Nasional) have five seats,” he added, referring to another two held by Bersatu.
“We will divide the remaining seats among ourselves (BN and PAS).”
PAS severed ties with Bersatu in June. However, both parties remain in PN.
Hadi said PAS had no issue with BN, which it acknowledged as the dominant party in Negeri Sembilan, retaining the menteri besar’s post.
The Negeri Sembilan legislative assembly has 36 seats. At the last state election, Pakatan Harapan won 17.
In April, the Umno-BN assemblymen in Negeri Sembilan announced that they had lost confidence in menteri besar Aminuddin Harun, of PKR, and withdrew their support for his administration.
Negeri Sembilan Umno chief Jalaluddin Alias said the decision was linked to Aminuddin’s handling of a royal dispute involving four chieftains seeking to remove Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir as Yang di‑Pertuan Besar.
The Negeri Sembilan election has been set for Aug 1, with nomination on July 18 and early voting on July 28.
