Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) could contest the 16th General Election (GE16) as allies if their cooperation in the Negeri Sembilan state election proves successful, according to DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook.
Loke said the Aug 1 state election was being used by both coalitions as a test to determine whether their electoral cooperation could effectively challenge Pakatan Harapan (PH), China Press reported.
He said a successful outcome for BN and PN would likely encourage both coalitions to extend their collaboration to future elections, including several upcoming state polls and GE16.
Cooperation remains under scrutiny
According to Loke, BN and PN believe that working together would allow them to secure the support of most, or even an overwhelming majority, of Malay voters.
He said PH must demonstrate that it remains capable of winning elections and that its rivals do not necessarily command the support of the majority of Malay voters.
Loke also argued that the BN-PN partnership does not automatically guarantee that both coalitions would retain the support they received in previous elections.
‘Politics cannot be calculated using simple arithmetic. They think one plus one must equal two, but in politics, one plus one does not always equal two.
‘Whether the BN-PN cooperation can ultimately be translated into votes remains to be tested by the electorate. In particular, it is still unclear whether Malay voters in Negeri Sembilan will accept this political logic,’ he said.
Negeri Sembilan contest
Under the electoral understanding between the two coalitions, BN is contesting 25 seats while PN is fielding candidates in the remaining 11 seats in the Negeri Sembilan election.
PH is contesting all 36 seats on its own.
At the federal level, BN and PH remain partners in the unity government, while PN remains in the opposition.
