BN-PH seat talks for Sabah polls 98 per cent complete

New Straits Times

17 hours ago

TANJONG KARANG: Negotiations for seat allocation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) for the upcoming 17th Sabah election are 98 per cent complete, said Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
He said discussions had been held to prevent any overlapping of contested seats between the two coalitions.
"This is what we have done in Sabah. Generally, I can say that negotiations for seat allocation between BN and PH are already 98 per cent complete.
"This cooperation was what secured us victories in the Mahkota state seat in Johor, Ayer Kuning in Perak, and Nenggiri in Kelantan," he said.
He said this during a press conference after opening the Tanjong Karang Umno division delegates' meeting at Dewan Dato Hormat here today.
At the same time, Asyraf reminded party members not to become arrogant in their efforts to cooperate with others.
"Umno is an open and dynamic party, as long as we never compromise our principles of struggle for religion and race," he said.
Asyraf also said Umno leaders had never discussed severing ties with any party ahead of the state election.
He said that while there is a possibility Umno may go solo, the party would still contest under the BN banner.
"Umno has never contested alone. We began in the first general election in 1955 with a three-party coalition (MIC, MCA and Umno).
"The political landscape changed in 1969, resulting in a new cooperation involving 14 parties under BN.
"Today, the political landscape is changing once again, and Umno must be wise in charting its direction.
"What matters is for Umno to remain strong and stay within the government structure to defend the agenda of Islam and other key matters," he said.
It was reported yesterday that Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan had said that the party is ready to face the Melaka election alone if there was no final decision on cooperation with PH in the state.