Kedah Umno information chief Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin says the Supreme Council member's remarks on seat allocations could strain efforts to increase cooperation between the two parties.
Its information chief, Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin, said Kedah Umno had held preliminary discussions with PAS, including meeting the Islamic party’s leadership on Sept 15, and that the talks had gone well so far.
“By and large, people want to see this cooperation become a reality and be a win-win (situation),” he told FMT.
“I ask that Nur Jazlan doesn’t interfere and issue statements that can affect the relationship between Umno and PAS.”
Shaiful’s remarks came after Nur Jazlan proposed that PAS allocate one-third of the state seats in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis to Umno if the two parties were serious about cooperating in the coming elections.
He said PAS did not need to contest every seat in the four states and should instead settle for two-thirds of the seats to demonstrate its sincerity in pursuing Malay unity.
Coming to PAS’s defence, Shaiful said Kedah and the other three states grouped under SG4 had their own approaches, because Umno’s position there differed from that in southern states, which he described as more comfortable.
He said Kedah Umno therefore needed to proceed cautiously and avoid rushing efforts to reach an understanding with PAS.
“Kedah Umno wants to ensure that negotiations remain calm and free from controversy, as political developments in Melaka also have an impact on Kedah,” he said.
He was referring to negotiations between Umno and PAS ahead of the Nov 14 Melaka state election, where Barisan Nasional is seeking to defend the 21 seats it won in 2021.
On Friday, Perikatan Nasional deputy chairman Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the coalition wanted to contest more than just four of the state’s 28 seats. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.