Amirudin waiting on Rauf to start Melaka election talks

Pakatan Harapan's election director Amirudin Shari is currently awaiting Melaka Barisan Nasional chairman Ab Rauf Yusoh to commence formal discussions on political cooperation for the upcoming state election, according to PH official statements. Amirudin, who has previously spoken with Rauf, revealed that the Melaka chief minister is awaiting several policy decisions from Umno and BN’s central leadership before proceeding with further talks, as reported by Bernama.

Amirudin emphasized that any political cooperation must be founded on genuine sincerity, insisting that negotiations should not commence under any conditions. In Selangor, their previous collaboration saw BN receiving seats won by PH in the 2023 state election. BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi initially announced that BN and Perikatan Nasional would maintain their alliance in Melaka's polls following their strong performance in Negeri Sembilan's election.

However, this arrangement seems to have hit a roadblock after Zahid stated that BN intended to contest the 21 seats it secured in the last Melaka election, whereas PN argued that they were still engaged in negotiations.

Zahid affirmed that BN remains open to discussions on seat allocation and even seat exchanges, provided that these talks are carried out honestly and sincerely. Melaka comprises 28 state seats, with the state's government slated to end on December 31. In the 2021 state election, BN secured 21 seats, winning the state government, while PH claimed five seats, and PN took two.