No Madani in Johor polls: Zahid maintains BN to contest all seats

BN is not changing course from its plans to contest all seats in the upcoming Johor state election, despite Pakatan Harapan chief Anwar Ibrahim’s desire to work out a deal to avoid clashes.

BN chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he is in the midst of finalising the list of candidates.

“I will finalise BN’s list of candidates for the 56 state seats as soon as possible and, God willing, the names will be announced a week before nomination day,” he was quoted as saying by The Star today.

He said the lineup will consist of incumbents and new faces, while keeping to BN’s philosophy of fielding winnable and likeable candidates.

Two weeks ago, after the Harapan convention, Anwar said he intended to meet Zahid for negotiations.

“I will meet the Umno president and negotiate properly. Why should we fight over it? Where we were lacking, we have helped a lot, helped everyone,” the prime minister said then, adding that he had hope an agreement could be reached.

However, as of last week, Anwar said he had yet to meet Zahid, who is his deputy prime minister.

Impending GE?

The BN chief’s remarks today signal that the window for a Madani pact to be worked out may be closing.

If no deal is reached, it will likely have a ripple effect that could lead to the federal government fracturing.

Anticipation is still high that Negeri Sembilan will also go to the polls, while Anwar has signalled that he would consider a snap general election.

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