NEGOTIATIONS between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) on the overlapping of nine seats to be contested in the six state elections will be resolved by the unity government negotiation council soon. 

PH communications director Fahmi Fadzil said the matter was not an issue, adding that he believed it would be resolved amicably. 

“Negotiations will be done internally, and when there is a decision (on the remaining nine seats) which ones belong to PH and BN, then they (BN) are free to decide to field candidates from any of its component parties in that seat, and likewise for PH,” he told reporters today. 

Fahmi, however, did not identify the disputed seats. 

On Sunday, Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki reportedly said the BN-PH negotiation committee had concluded discussions on seat distribution, except for nine seats. 

The six states facing elections soon are Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Terengganu, and Kelantan. 

Commenting on PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s statement that the unity government would be at risk of falling if the state election results were in favour of Perikatan Nasional (PN), Fahmi said it defied the Johor sultan’s order.  

“The Johor Sultan has said, to stop (politicking).  As an elderly, senior party leader, it is not nice for him to say that unless Tuan Ibrahim intends to defy the order. 

“After all, some leaders have also said before, I repeat, this is state elections, any decision in the state elections will not affect any seats at the federal level,” he added. – Bernama, June 20, 2023.