No talks yet on BN-PN cooperation for GE16, says Wan Rosdy

Umno vice-president Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail has stated that the Bangsa Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) parties have not yet discussed prolonging their political alliance for the 16th general election (GE16). The focus at present is on consolidating the newly formed Negeri Sembilan government following the recent state election, according to Berita Harian.

Wan Rosdy emphasized that matters in Negeri Sembilan must be resolved before considering other issues. He suggested that discussions about the BN-PN cooperation might occur after addressing the situation in Melaka. This speculation was fueled by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's earlier comments that the BN-PN cooperation in Negeri Sembilan would be periodically evaluated, potentially extending to the Melaka election and eventually the GE16.

BN chairman and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had previously indicated that the agreement with PN would be extended for the Melaka election. In the recent Negeri Sembilan election, BN and PN jointly secured 25 out of the 36 contested seats, forming a government with a two-thirds majority, with BN holding 18 seats and PN seven.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) managed to win the remaining 11 seats. While PH's election director Amirudin Shari attributed their defeat to racial politics exploitation by their opponents, Wan Rosdy disputed this claim, asserting that voter decisions were based on the credibility of candidates and the prospect of a stable government. Wan Rosdy dismissed allegations of racial campaigning, citing the election results which showed that Malay voters supported the MCA candidate, despite the majority being Malay voters.