BN-PN dijangka bentuk kerjasama menjelang PRN Melaka

Melaka is scheduled to hold elections shortly after the Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) is dissolved, reported on Wednesday. Analysts predict that Umno and PAS will form a pre-election alliance to compete against the upcoming PRN Melaka, as both parties are not keen on competing against each other for Malay majority seats. Although Umno has not announced a coalition partner yet, Mazlan Ali from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said that all indications suggest the party will directly cooperate with PAS.

"In the recent Umno General Meeting, PAS was summoned, not (another component party of the National Intelligence and Security Council), Wawasan," he told FMT. Mazlan Ali believes PAS might reach an agreement with Umno before dividing the seats among PN component parties. Mazlan Ali added that this step would prevent Umno from having to contend with too many parties in seat distribution and instead hand over the task to PAS.

BN Secretary Zahid Hamidi had previously said that formal talks with other parties would only begin after the DUN is dissolved. On Tuesday, BN Melaka Secretary Ab Rauf Yusoh avoided answering questions about possible pre-election cooperation, stating that such a alliance would need time to resolve the dissolution issues first. Mazlan and Azmi Hassan from Nusantara Academy said that Umno realized BN would face more difficulty in fighting solo due to competition with PAS, which would tire them out in winning Malay majority seats.

They said Rauf's position might be threatened as he only managed to retain Tanjung Bidara seat in 2021 with a narrow 364 votes in a three-cornered contest against PN and Pakatan Harapan. Azmi Hassan added, "Umno needs to find a partner. Umno knows that fighting solo will be difficult because if it does, it will have to face PAS in most seats, especially in Malay majority areas."

Azmi noted that BN's desire to retain all 21 seats it won in 2021 means any potential coalition partners have only seven seats to contest. Meanwhile, PAS Deputy President Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man told FMT that the party would discuss with Umno in the near future. He said that the PN seat distribution would only be decided after PAS resolves its talks with Umno.

"PAS has prepared all its forces to be ready for the seats to be contested in DUN. We are open to cooperating with Umno and hope the cooperation formed in the recent PRN Neversembilan will continue," he said.