PETALING JAYA: Two Umno leaders have poured cold water on Wawasan’s desire to contest the Sungai Udang and Bemban state seats in the Melaka election, citing Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) current circumstance as well as the coalition’s narrow victories in both constituencies.
Umno Supreme Council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the party should only negotiate with PAS regarding the distribution of seats, given PN's suspension by the Registrar of Societies.
"It would be more appropriate and fair for Wawasan’s seat demands to be settled internally within PN, rather than by pressuring Umno, which leads Barisan Nasional (BN).
"BN should only negotiate with PAS, as the issue of PN’s status has yet to be resolved with the RoS," he told FMT.
Yesterday, Wawasan president Hamzah Zainudin said the party wanted to defend the Sungai Udang and Bemban seats in the Melaka polls, just as Umno intended to defend the 21 seats it previously held.
The Sungai Udang and Bemban seats were won by Dr Aleef Yusof and Dr Yadzil Yaakub in the 2021 polls. Aleef and Yadzil, who contested as Bersatu candidates under the PN banner, joined Wawasan last year.
Hamzah said Wawasan had the right to contest the seats according to the principle of incumbency.
He also said any negotiations must take into account the interests of all parties, and Wawasan’s demands should not be sidelined simply because others are also interested in contesting the seats.
Wanita Umno information chief Rosni Zahari said the allocation of the Sungai Udang and Bemban seats should be determined according to the current situation and the strength of the parties involved.
She said narrow victories were no guarantee that the seats would be retained in the upcoming election.
"Sungai Udang and Bemban were won with a slim majority of 530 and 328 votes, respectively. Wawasan has to take into account changes in party affiliation and voter support," she said.