PAS Accepts BN Will Lead Melaka as SG4 Cooperation Plans Take Shape

As PAS openly accepts that Umno-BN will lead Melaka in the upcoming state election, plans for cooperation in PAS’s four strongholds (SG4) are also beginning to take shape.

PAS assistant secretary-general Syahir Sulaiman said it is still too early and no formal talks have been held, but both parties already have early indications of cooperation in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis.

Seat-Sharing Talks for GE16 Yet to Formally Begin, Says PAS

The issue arose after PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang spoke of working with BN in the context of seat negotiations for the Melaka election, not the SG4 states.

Syahir, who is also Hadi’s political secretary, said the 78-year-old leader was referring only to Umno-BN leadership in Melaka.

Seat-sharing talks for the 16th general election and the SG4 states have not formally begun, though both sides have early indications as a basis for cooperation. Syahir declined to elaborate.

Hadi has noted that despite Umno-BN’s dominance in the Melaka assembly, it holds none of the state’s six parliamentary seats.

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has suggested testing PAS’s openness through a state election in any SG4 state, including Terengganu.

Hadi said last Saturday that BN would lead Melaka if the PN-BN understanding wins a majority. PAS-PN would only join the government after the Nov. 14 polls.