Pakatan Harapan (PH) should not interfere with Barisan Nasional’s (BN) decision to openly cooperate with Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the upcoming Negeri Sembilan state election, said Bachok MP Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman.
The PAS lawmaker said calls for BN ministers and deputy ministers to resign from the Cabinet were inappropriate and excessive, considering BN remains one of the key partners in the Madani Government.
He questioned why PH was concerned over the BN-PN understanding in Negeri Sembilan when the cooperation was currently limited to the state election.
“Why is PH worried in Putrajaya when the PN-BN cooperation so far is only limited to a mutual understanding for the Negeri Sembilan state election?
“When BN and PH contested against each other in 56 seats during the Johor state election, why was there no such demand?” he said in a statement on Sunday.
Earlier, Angkatan Muda Harapan (AMH) urged all BN ministers and deputy ministers to resign from the Cabinet following the latest political developments involving BN and PN.
AMH claimed that BN’s open cooperation with PN showed the coalition no longer appreciated the trust and position given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim under the unity government.
Mohd Syahir, who is also a PAS representative, said the BN-PN understanding in Negeri Sembilan was aimed at avoiding overlapping contests, strengthening cooperation among Malay-Muslim voters and offering an alternative to what he described as PH’s administration shortcomings.
He added that any wider cooperation between PN and BN after the Negeri Sembilan election remained a “test formula”, with both parties still adopting a cautious approach while considering views from their grassroots supporters.
Mohd Syahir also pointed to MCA’s reaction as a sign that doubts over the cooperation still existed, while questioning whether PH’s youth wing had lost confidence in the strength of the Madani Government.
He said political cooperation should ultimately be decided through democratic processes and the response from voters.
