PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional’s announcement that it will contest the Sungai Udang seat in the Melaka election proves that it has rejected Wawasan as an electoral partner, says former Umno leader Puad Zarkashi.
The former Batu Pahat MP said BN's plan to nominate Rais Yasin for Sungai Udang also signalled that the coalition would contest all 19 parliamentary seats held by Wawasan in the next general election.
"PAS will certainly defend Wawasan, just as it defended Bersatu during the early stages of Perikatan Nasional’s establishment. PAS will not allow BN to be dominant.
"This is why cooperation between BN and PAS will not necessarily guarantee Malay and national political stability. There is also no guarantee that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will become prime minister.
"PAS has other plans. PAS is not ready to be forced to share a stage with Umno," he said in a Facebook post today.
Last Wednesday, Zahid, the BN chairman, said his coalition would contest 21 of Melaka’s 28 state seats, while PAS and its allies would vie for the remaining seven.
However, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said that seat distribution had yet to be finalised, although he maintained that cooperation between the parties was certain.
BN announced on Saturday that it would nominate Rais, the Paya Rumput incumbent, to contest Sungai Udang, previously held by Dr Aleef Yusof.
Following the announcement, Aleef said BN had "bullied" PAS and PN. He urged PN not to continue allowing BN "to determine its political direction without considering the interests of its strategic partners".
Aleef, who won the Sungai Udang seat for Bersatu before announcing his move to Wawasan on Oct 2, also urged PN to consider running solo in the Nov 14 Melaka polls.