BN to announce Malacca polls partner after Oct 7, says Zahid

BN is expected to announce its electoral partner for the upcoming Malacca state election after the Election Commission (EC) unveils the key dates on Oct 7, coalition chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Zahid, who is also Umno president, said BN had held discussions with both sides and would finalise its cooperation after the EC’s announcement.

The Malacca state assembly was dissolved on Sept 23.

“We have actually held discussions with both.

“We will wait for the EC’s announcement on Oct 7, and after that there will be an announcement to finalise which coalition we should work with or reach an agreement with so that we can move forward in the Malacca state election.

“We are very open,” he told reporters after delivering a speech at the opening of the Malaysian Islamic Scholars Seminar at the Tuanku Canselor Hall, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam, today.

'No problem if PAS wants to use own logo'

Zahid said the negotiations were close to reaching an agreement when asked to rate their progress on a scale of one to 10.

“The discussions are at 9.5 out of 10,” he said.

Zahid said that BN also has no problems if PAS chooses to use its own logo in the state election.

He added that the matter of logo usage had not yet been formally discussed, but he expected that PAS would be more comfortable using its own, as it did in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.

Zahid said that although the form of cooperation and use of logos had yet to be finalised, BN planned to mobilise its machinery together at the grassroots level, including at polling district centres.

“At the grassroots level, at the machinery level, and at the polling district centres, we will move together.

“Although we have not decided which partner we want to move with, we have planned to mobilise this machinery so that the blue wave in Malacca can truly be translated (into electoral support),” he said.

Asked if BN is ready to negotiate with Pakatan Harapan for the state election, Zahid said the coalition is open to it.

“We are very open (to talks with Harapan),” he said.

In a separate development, Zahid said he hoped UiTM could establish a quantum department next year, before expanding it into a faculty.

He said quantum technology was a new field with the potential to place Malaysia at the forefront of technology alongside other countries.

“I am fully confident that if UiTM is given the responsibility to establish this department next year, I am very confident that its potential is significant enough to attract many students to pursue studies in this field.

“And ultimately, in less than a decade, it will produce quantum experts in our country,” he added.

Zahid said he would also provide RM500,000 in seed capital to expedite the department’s establishment.

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