BN will stick to informal pact with PN, says Umno man

Barisan Nasional is concentrating on preserving the electoral understanding with Perikatan Nasional for upcoming state and general elections, according to Umno Supreme Council member Razlan Rafii. The party is hesitant to establish any official alliances, citing past experiences. Razlan believes that the tactics employed during the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections were successful and prevented any discontent among the competing parties.

Seats were allocated between the two coalitions based on their respective strengths without impacting each other's operations. Razlan mentioned that Muafakat Nasional, a pact between PAS and Umno in 2019 to unify the Malay vote, could not reach a compromise, leading to its dissolution. He also alluded to a third party taking advantage of the impasse, causing MN's downfall.

Razlan emphasized that they do not want history to repeat itself. The informal electoral understanding proved effective in Negeri Sembilan and Johor, as there were no unhappy parties. During the Johor state election last month, PN instructed its supporters to back BN in constituencies it was not contesting, resulting in a substantial victory for BN.

In Negeri Sembilan's polls on August 1, PN and BN agreed not to contest against each other, leading to a state government formed by the two coalitions.