PERIKATAN Nasional (PN) will contest all 28 seats in the Malacca elections next month, said coalition chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.

“Since Umno says it does not want to cooperate with us, we are ready for any contest, be it multi-cornered fights or straight fights.

“Hence, I had last night suggested to PN to finalise our seats among Bersatu, PAS and Gerakan immediately. All 28 can be divided according to the circumstances,” said the former prime minister during a press conference in Malacca today.

On whether this means PN will contest all state seats in Malacca, Muhyiddin replied: “There is a high chance we will contest all 28 seats.”

He said the coalition has enough qualified people to be assemblymen.

On whether Malacca should hold elections as the country is recovering from Covid-19, he said it is “academic” now as the Election Commission (EC) has already set the dates.

“The fact is, they cannot delay the polls any more as it is constitutional after the Malacca governor dissolved the assembly. It is a foregone conclusion, and the constitution states that we must have elections within 60 days.

“EC must announce the standard operating procedure to prevent the spread of the virus by preventing more movement, or have social media or virtual campaigns, so a recurrence like (the one in) Sabah will not happen.”

His remarks come after Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that his party will not cooperate with the Muhyiddin-led Bersatu.

Zahid said there is no issue of delay in making a decision on Umno-Bersatu cooperation for the state polls as the Umno general assembly had earlier this year decided against any collaboration.

“On Bersatu, we have made a decision. We will never work with them… period. We have made our decision during the Umno general assembly.

“That is our decision, and we have decided to not work with Bersatu,” he said last night, after meeting the Umno Hang Tuah Jaya division in Malacca.

Barisan Nasional and PN are both part of the federal government and Kedah, Perak and Johor state governments.

The Malacca legislative assembly was dissolved last month after four assemblymen withdrew their support for Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali.

The Election Commission has set November 8 as nomination day, while polls will be held on November 20. – October 22, 2021.