PETALING JAYA: PAS is unfazed by Barisan Nasional’s plans to defend the 21 constituencies it won in the 2021 Melaka state polls despite the risk of clashing with Perikatan Nasional during seat negotiations.
The Islamic party’s deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said while PN has yet to hold discussions with BN over seats, he was confident any teething problems could be resolved amicably.
“What is important is that the cooperation between BN and PN continues,” he told FMT, referring to the understanding the two coalitions reached for the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.
“We should not let one or two seats get in the way of this alliance.”
During the Johor state election last month, PN told its supporters to back BN in constituencies the opposition coalition was not contesting.
For the Negeri Sembilan polls on Aug 1, PN and BN reached an understanding not to contest against each other.
Earlier this morning, Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia told FMT that PN was likely to demand at least half of the 28 state seats up for grabs when Melaka goes to the polls next.
She said the demand will largely be based on its victory in three of the state’s parliamentary constituencies in the 2022 general election (GE15).
BN failed to win any parliamentary seat in Melaka in GE15 despite chalking up a convincing victory in the state election the previous year. PN only won two seats in the last state polls.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said recently that the BN-PN cooperation in the Melaka polls could look different from that in Negeri Sembilan, but emphasised that it would depend on local developments.
In response, Melaka BN chairman Ab Rauf Yusoh said the coalition was willing to explore working with any party under a BN-Plus formula although he cautioned that talks may not necessarily result in an agreement.
