Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is expected to attend PAS’s 72nd muktamar in Pengkalan Chepa near here, nearly 10 years after he last attended the Islamic party’s annual gathering.
The Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman is expected to be accompanied by Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, as well as state and divisional Umno leaders.
“It’s true, Zahid will attend the muktamar tomorrow,” an Umno leader who requested anonymity told FMT.
The last time Umno leaders attended the PAS muktamar was in 2019, when it was held in Pahang. At the time, Umno and PAS were partners in the Muafakat Nasional pact, which later fell apart after PAS formed Perikatan Nasional (PN) with Bersatu.
PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan previously said Umno leaders had been invited to this year’s muktamar because PAS viewed Umno as a strategic partner.
The invitation comes after the BN-PN alliance secured a strong victory in the Negeri Sembilan election. PAS currently chairs PN.
Melaka polls expected after Umno assembly
Zahid also hinted that the Melaka state election could be held after the 2026 Umno general assembly, which is scheduled from Sept 9 to 12.
However, he declined to comment on whether the state polls would be held immediately after the assembly, saying this was the prerogative of Melaka Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusuf.
“It will be held after the Umno general assembly.
“There is no single formula that can be used for different places.
“So we have to adapt the formula. Melaka has a different political landscape, so there may be differences in terms of the formula and the alliances,” he said in a recent interview.
Speculation has been growing that the Melaka polls could be held soon, with Rauf recently saying they could take place before November to avoid disrupting the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations.
The speculation was further fuelled by a recent statement from PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who last month instructed the coalition’s machinery to remain ready at all times, saying he believed the state polls could be held within two months.
Zahid, who is also BN chairman and deputy prime minister, said informal discussions had been held separately with PN and Pakatan Harapan (PH) on the possibility of forming an electoral pact.
He reiterated that any decision on a pact and seat negotiations would only be made after the Melaka assembly was dissolved.
“Informal discussions have been held with PN and PH.
“However, as I said previously, discussions on seat negotiations should preferably take place only after the Melaka assembly has been dissolved.”
BN to defend 21 Melaka seats
Zahid said Umno and BN would not give up any of the 21 seats they won in the last election.
He said Umno and BN had contested all 28 seats on their own in the 2021 state election and eventually secured a two-thirds majority.
“At that time, there was a party that wanted to contest 15 of the 28 seats.
“However, the results were very clear when we won 21 seats.
“Given how difficult it was for us to secure those 21 seats, it would be impossible to compromise by giving up some of the seats that are already in our hands and handing them to others.
“So that is the principle,” he said.
Zahid added that Umno and BN were open to allowing other coalition parties to contest the remaining seven seats.
“There are seven seats that can be contested by any of the coalition parties because whoever wins them will be with us, and we are always open to working together.”
