BN on the path to go solo at next general election?
PETALING JAYA: A conference of Umno leaders has decided to break with PPBM and the Perikatan Nasional coalition at the next general election, according to an Umno insider.
The decision may lead to the Umno-led Barisan Nasional coalition contending the elections on its own ticket, as it did in previous general elections.
The party insider said Umno had rejected the position of deputy prime minister that was offered to it last year when it had asked PPBM to make the party equal partners in PN. “There was a definite no on this,” he said.
However, the party’s ties with PAS hang in the balance, the Umno member said after a leadership meeting in Janda Baik, Pahang, on Saturday night.
Umno and PAS are partners in the Muafakat Nasional alliance, while PAS and PPBM are partners in the Perikatan Nasional coalition which runs the federal government, with parliamentary support from Umno and its BN partners.
The source said Umno had decided not to work with Perikatan Nasional, while Umno’s electoral relationship with PAS will depend on the state of seat negotiations.
“If PAS remains adamant about seat allocation, Umno may not want to work with the party in Muafakat Nasional,” the insider said. “There are many who are pushing for BN to go solo if PAS remains adamant,” he told FMT.
However, no decision was made about Muafakat Nasional.
The Umno insider said there are a lot of “problems brewing in Terengganu” and Johor and Selangor may follow suit if Umno cannot reach agreement with PAS on seat allocations.
He said Umno expects a general election to be called as soon as the state of emergency is lifted. It is scheduled to last until Aug 1.
A showdown has been expected between Muafakat Nasional partners in at least four states, with Terengganu Umno having announced it intends to contest all Terengganu seats at the next general election.
PAS holds 22 of the 32 seats in the state assembly and six of the eight parliamentary seats.
Showdowns are already imminent in Johor, where Umno is not ready to give up any seats to PAS, and in states like Perak and Selangor where the two parties are at loggerheads.
