KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — Negotiations between Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) and Barisan Nasional (BN) on the overlapping of nine state seats to be contested in the upcoming six state elections will be resolved by the Unity Government Negotiation Council soon.
Harapan communication director Fahmi Fadzil said the matter was not an issue, adding he believed that it would be resolved amicably.
“Negotiations will be done internally, and when there is a decision (on the remaining nine seats) which ones belong to Harapan and BN, then they (BN) are free to decide to field candidates from any of its component party in that seat, and likewise for Harapan,” he said.
The Communication and Digital Minister told reporters after attending the ConnectASIA 2023 Seminar at the Royale Chulan Damansara here.
Fahmi, however, did not disclose which state seats overlapped between Harapan and BN.
On Sunday, it was reported that Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said discussions on the seat distribution had been concluded at the BN-Harapan Negotiation Committee, except for nine seats.
The six states facing elections soon are Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kelantan.
Meanwhile, commenting on the statement made by PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man that the Unity Government will be at risk of falling if the state election results are in favour of Perikatan Nasional (PN), Fahmi described it as defying the order of the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
“The Johor Sultan has said, to stop (politicking). As an elderly, senior party leader, it is not nice for him to say that unless Tuan Ibrahim intends to defy the order.
“After all, some leaders have also said before, I repeat, this is state elections, any decision in the state elections will not affect any seats at the federal level,” he added.
— Bernama
