Bersatu deputy chief: No problem negotiating seats with Umno

Bersatu has denied that it is having trouble in discussing seat allocations with Umno.

Met by reporters yesterday evening, Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu (above) also dismissed news reports that Umno wants BN to contest all seats that the coalition won in the 14th general election.

"I am in the negotiation committee among PN component parties, and this is not a problem for us.

"Our discussions are going on, in good terms, and there is no problem in relationships between parties," Ahmad said after attending Bersatu’s fourth-anniversary celebration held in Kuala Lumpur.

Last month, Umno supreme council member Zahidi Zainul Abidin had reportedly told the media that the party wants to retake all seats that BN had lost after defections by its members after GE14.

"This is the supreme council’s - not the president’s – decision to retake (the seats). Thus, we will not give even one seat to Bersatu. That much is certain.

"If Bersatu still wants (to contest in the next general election), then they can contest in other seats.

"It is up to them to contest in Bersatu Blackout’s seats or wherever else, they can go contest in that place," Zahidi was featured saying on news portal Suara TV on Aug 25.

According to Zahidi, BN has also decided to field candidates in seats that it previously contested and lost in 2018, but garnered the second most number of votes.

The ground rules set by the Umno supreme council might put Bersatu in a tight spot, considering that of its 31 current MPs, 15 won their seats on a BN ticket before defecting, between 2018 and 2019.

Secondly, of Bersatu's 31 MPs, 10 won their seats on PKR tickets, where the BN candidates turned out second.

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