Barisan Nasional (BN) has never signed any formal agreement with Pakatan Harapan (PH) at the state government level, according to UMNO Central War Room Secretariat chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
He said the absence of such agreements allows BN to adopt more flexible political strategies based on the circumstances in each state.
“We have never signed any agreement at the state level,” Ahmad told reporters after an official visit to the construction site of a preschool building at Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Samudera in Manjung on Monday.
He said BN contested independently in Johor, while in Negeri Sembilan there was no state-level agreement with the Unity Government, allowing BN to cooperate with Perikatan Nasional (PN) instead.
Ahmad added that he had also been informed there were no formal agreements between BN and PH at the state level in Sarawak and Melaka.
The Deputy Works Minister stressed that the only formal agreement between BN and PH exists at the federal level.
He said BN remains committed to supporting the Unity Government until the end of its current term.
“We signed an agreement at the federal level until the end of the government’s term, and we have no intention of breaching it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ahmad voiced support for BN chairman’s proposal to apply the BN-PN cooperation formula used in Negeri Sembilan to the upcoming Melaka state election.
He said the strategy could give BN an advantage if electoral contests were reduced to straight fights.
“I support the BN chairman’s view that the successful formula used in Negeri Sembilan should also be applied in Melaka.
“If there are three-cornered contests, it will be more difficult for BN. But in two-cornered contests, it gives BN an advantage, just as we saw in Johor and Negeri Sembilan,” he said.
Last Saturday, the Election Commission (EC) announced the official results of the 16th Negeri Sembilan state election, with BN winning 18 seats, PH securing 11 seats, and PN taking seven seats.
The victory marked BN’s return to power in Negeri Sembilan after the coalition had spent two terms out of the state government.
