Barisan Nasional’s decision to contest the Sungai Udang seat in the Melaka state election shows that it has rejected Wawasan as an electoral partner, says former Umno leader Puad Zarkashi.
The former Batu Pahat MP said BN’s plan to field Rais Yasin in Sungai Udang also signalled that the coalition intended to contest all 19 parliamentary seats held by Wawasan in the next general election.
“PAS will certainly defend Wawasan, just as it defended Bersatu during the early stages of Perikatan Nasional’s establishment. PAS will not allow BN to be dominant.
“This is why cooperation between BN and PAS will not necessarily guarantee Malay and national political stability. There is also no guarantee that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will become prime minister.
“PAS has other plans. PAS is not ready to be forced to share a stage with Umno,” he said in a Facebook post today.
BN-PAS seat negotiations remain unresolved
Last Wednesday, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the coalition would contest 21 of Melaka’s 28 state seats, while PAS and its allies would contest the remaining seven.
However, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said seat allocation had yet to be finalised, although he maintained that cooperation between the parties was certain.
Rais to contest Sungai Udang
On Saturday, BN announced that it would field Rais, the incumbent Paya Rumput assemblyman, in Sungai Udang, a seat previously held by Aleef Yusof.
Following the announcement, Aleef accused BN of having “bullied” PAS and PN. He urged PN not to allow BN to continue “determining its political direction without considering the interests of its strategic partners”.
Aleef won the Sungai Udang seat for Bersatu before announcing his move to Wawasan on Oct 2. He also urged PN to consider contesting the Nov 14 Melaka election on its own.
