Pakatan Harapan (PH) Youth has urged all Barisan Nasional (BN) ministers and deputy ministers in the Cabinet to step down following the coalition’s electoral cooperation with Perikatan Nasional (PN) in Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
In a joint statement, PH Youth questioned BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s remarks describing the BN-PN understanding in Negeri Sembilan as a test case that could potentially be expanded for the 16th General Election.
The group claimed Zahid’s statement indicated that the cooperation between BN and PN was no longer merely a temporary political arrangement, but a move towards forming a new political alignment.
“This raises serious questions over BN’s commitment towards the unity government,” they said.
They also alleged that BN had shown a lack of commitment towards its cooperation with PH despite holding key positions in the government, including the Deputy Prime Minister post, several ministerial portfolios and other senior roles.
The statement was jointly issued by PH Youth information chief and Amanah Youth deputy chief Ammar Atan, DAP Youth national publicity secretary Ho Chi Yang, PKR information chief Danish Hairudin and Amanah Warda communications bureau director Syazana Nasir.
PH Youth further accused BN of taking a “two-faced” approach, saying the resignation of its ministers and deputy ministers would allow the coalition to fully focus on its political cooperation with PN.
They said such a move would also prevent uncertainty over BN’s political direction and reduce the possibility of internal actions that could affect the stability of the unity government.
“The people want a government that prioritises development and unity, not political strategies based on race and religion for narrow interests,” they said.
BN currently has 14 ministers and deputy ministers in the unity government, with the majority from Umno and one representative from Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).
For the Negeri Sembilan state election, PH is contesting all 36 state seats independently, while BN and PN have agreed on a seat-sharing arrangement with BN contesting 25 seats and PN contesting 11 seats.
Meanwhile, during the recent Johor election, PAS had encouraged its members and supporters to support BN candidates in constituencies where PN did not field candidates.
