KJ: BN-PH relationship, Anwar-Zahid ties at lowest point

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin says the relationship between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan, as well as between Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, is at its lowest point.

Khairy, better known as KJ, said the mood at the 2026 Umno General Assembly reflected growing sentiment among delegates that the party's cooperation with PH had effectively run its course.

"Basically, the message is that we are only staying in the government until the general election, whenever that is, and after that, when we enter the general election, then we will fight each other.

"That's basically the message from the Umno general assembly," he said in a recent episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast.

Khairy said he believed the sentiment was shared by the overwhelming majority of delegates at the assembly, who agreed with the view that Umno was "done with this whole Unity Government."

He said the sentiment was so strong that some delegates wanted a general election to be held immediately.

Khairy said the direction emerging from the assembly also pointed towards the possibility of Umno cooperating with Perikatan Nasional, particularly Pas, based on a formula similar to the one adopted in Negri Sembilan.

However, he said several issues surrounding such cooperation remained unresolved.

These included the distribution of parliamentary and state seats, arrangements in states currently governed by Pas, including the so-called SG4 states, as well as BN-governed states such as Pahang.

"Many things have still not been decided, but what is clear is that we are done with PH, we are done with Anwar, and we are ready to contest with cooperation perhaps with PN, Pas and we are ready to take over the government," he said.

Khairy said seat allocation would be among the key issues to be addressed if Umno and Pas were to work together at the next general election.

He cited Melaka as an example, saying BN's "base position is 21 or nothing", leaving little room for Pas to be allocated seats there.

He said the eventual outcome would depend on how the respective parties resolved outstanding issues, particularly the terms of any potential cooperation between Umno and Pas.

Meanwhile, former Umno information chief and Keluar Sekejap co-host Shahril Sufian Hamdan said the political landscape could still change, particularly if Anwar had sufficient time to navigate the remaining period before the next general election.

Shahril said the emergence of Umno as a party perceived to be in a stronger position could itself represent a significant shift in the political landscape.

He likened the situation to a football match in which a team that had been trailing had equalised and then moved into the lead.

He said Umno's conduct would therefore need to reflect its changed position rather than continue behaving as though it were still trying to catch up.

Shahril also said developments involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Zahid's political positioning and the future of Umno-Pas cooperation could all contribute to further changes in the political landscape. - NST