Zahid tells parties to park PM talk, focus on Melaka polls instead

Malaysia's Barisan Nasional chairman, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, urged political parties on September 6 to shift their focus from discussing who could become prime minister after the 16th general election to the upcoming Melaka state election. Zahid, who serves as deputy prime minister, stated that it is too early to name or discuss a potential prime ministerial candidate due to the uncertainty surrounding the timing of Parliament's dissolution and the next general election.

Zahid emphasized that they do not know when Parliament will be dissolved, and thus suggested putting that matter aside for now and focusing on the Melaka state election. The Umno president made these remarks after the closing of the 2026 National Orang Asli Sports Carnival at the EduCity Sports Complex in Iskandar Puteri.

Zahid also addressed cooperation among political parties for the Melaka election, stating that decisions on this matter would only be made after the Melaka Legislative Assembly is dissolved. His comments followed PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang's statement at PAS’ annual congress in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, that the party had a potential prime ministerial candidate for GE16, but that the individual was not yet revealed.