No pacts with Bersatu and PAS for GE15, Umno says

Umno did not give autonomy to its state and divisional leadership to cooperate with PAS and Bersatu for the upcoming general election, said party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan.

“All quarters should refer to the resolution agreed upon at Umno annual general assembly 2021,” he said.

Ahmad (above) reminded all Umno chapters, including Selangor which had sought autonomy to defeat Pakatan Harapan in the 15th general election, to stick to the party’s decision.

"We uphold the decision made by the party in the annual general assembly in March.

"The decision has not been changed and it is final," he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.

It was reported that Selangor Umno wished to be granted autonomy so it could continue to work with PAS under the Muafakat Nasional (Muafakat) platform.

Selangor BN chief Nor Omar had reportedly said that cooperation between Umno and the Islamist party is considered good and more effective.

In May, Noh said Umno and PAS would avoid contesting the same seats in Selangor in the upcoming general election, with the hope of ousting Harapan.

With the strategy, Umno and PAS were targeting to win at least 30 of the 56 state seats up for grabs in Selangor, the Tanjung Karang MP was reported as saying back then.

Several states including Penang had also expressed their wishes to continue cooperating with Bersatu and PAS.

After the last general election, Umno and PAS signed the Muafakat charter to collaborate on issues affecting Malays and Muslims.

While the cooperation was initially smooth sailing, cracks emerged after PAS decided to join the Bersatu-led coalition, Perikatan Nasional (PN).

And the Umno-PAS tied hit rock bottom after both parties clashed in the Malacca and Johore state elections.

Asked if Umno is confident of winning Selangor, Malacca and Johore, Ahmad said the Malacca and Johore state elections had proven the people have returned to BN.

"So l hope BN will be victorious in Selangor and other states,” he said.

Meanwhile, BN deputy chairperson Mohamad Hassan said BN supreme council has instructed its secretariat to study the application by six parties to join the coalition.

"No decision has been made yet. We will fine-tune the applications one by one as we need time to arrive at a consensus," he told a press conference in Johor yesterday.

Last week, BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealed that six parties have applied to join the coalition. - Mkini