Umno dekati PAS angkara PH, dakwa Akmal

Dr Akmal Saleh, the Umno Youth Chief, accused the Pakatan Harapan (PH) party of pressuring Umno to choose between power and principle following the continued push by PH to influence Umno's decision-making. Addressing the Umno Pambudsi gathering at the World Trade Centre (WTC) Kuala Lumpur, Akmal questioned why PH asked why Umno switched to a power-sharing arrangement with PAS, instead of asking PH why they made Umno choose power over principle.

After the 2015 general election (PRU15), Umno-BN remained the opposition but agreed to form a government to respect the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's advice, Akmal said. He also doubted if PH would show the same respect for the istana's (palace's) viewpoint, citing the controversy surrounding pig farming in Selangor. BN Secretary Zahid Hamidi stated that BN Melaka Youth Chief Ab Rauf Yusof had been mandated to discuss cross-party cooperation with any party for the 2023 PRN.

Zahid, also Umno president, said the chosen cooperation must be sincere and honest for BN to continue ruling the state for another term. Initially, he said BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN) would continue their alliance in the Melaka PRN following their convincing win in the Negeri Sembilan PRN on August 1. However, this changed when Zahid insisted BN wanted to contest all 21 seats they won in Melaka, while PN insisted on further discussions.

Melaka has 28 parliamentary seats, and BN won 21 of them in PRN 2021 to form the state government. PH won five seats, and PN two. The state government term is scheduled to end on December 31.