SEAT distribution talks among Barisan Nasional (BN) parties are still in progress as the general election is set to be held in the coming weeks.

BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan said for now, meetings with party leaders were still ongoing.

“Our component parties have not decided (on the seats), although we have discussed and the (BN) secretariat will meet with the combined leadership of MCA, MIC and Sabah parties to ensure that the distribution of seats is carried out as best as possible,” he said after opening the Rembau Umno division meeting today.

However, Mohamad said the preparations for the general election were going smoothly with the election machinery being activated and streamlined.

The Umno deputy president also said that BN was currently carrying out a survey on the voters’ perception of the coalition.

The survey was being done by party branches in the voting district centres.

“The attitude study we did before needs to be streamlined because voters’ attitude has changed according to current situations and issues,” he was reported as saying in the New Straits Times.

“So far we (BN) have not talked about the seat target, but we want to win and we must get or pass 112 seats to make sure we can form a government in the next election.

“That’s our target. So if we can win a lot more, it’s better,” he added.

“There are many of us who narrowly lost because of local issues, and this needs to be resolved immediately so as not to repeat the mistakes we made in GE14,” he said.

Earlier today, BN chairman and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said BN will contest 191 parliamentary seats in the country in the upcoming general election, except for the 31 seats in Sarawak.

Zahid also said that coming polls will be the first time candidates from Friends of BN will represent the coalition. 

There are 222 parliamentary seats in the country but Umno is not present in Sarawak where there are 31 seats available.

Friends of BN are parties that are allies of BN but not part of the BN pact. They include Makkal Sakti, Parti Cinta Malaysia, Indian Progressive Front, Kongres India Muslim Malaysia, Malaysian United Indian Party and Parti Punjabi Malaysia.

Newly formed Parti Bangsa Malaysia has applied to join BN but no decision has been made yet.

BN is made up of Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah. – October 16, 2022.