BARISAN Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) have reached an agreement on the Kedah menteri besar candidate if the pact wins the state elections on August 12, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

He, however, said the name would only be announced after the pact managed to secure at least 19 seats to form a simple majority in the state assembly.

“We have reached this agreement, but we will not announce it (the candidate). When we reach the number (of seats required), we will announce it,” he said when asked to comment on the matter.

Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, said he was confident that the youth would come out in droves to vote on August 12, in particular, for candidates from BN-PH.

He also said Langkawi needed to be redeveloped to attract more tourists so that the income of the people on the resort island would rise.

He said the ferry service required immediate attention as it had a direct impact on the number of tourist arrivals.

“The federal government will look into increasing allocations because Langkawi needs to be redeveloped,” he said, adding that the matter would be easily resolved if the state administration was aligned with the federal government.

Earlier, at the Community Development Department’s Smart Village Programme at Taman Nilam, Ayer Hangat, Zahid said national and international-level programmes should be held every month in Langkawi to enable the tourism industry to thrive, which would also have a positive impact on other industries on the island. – Bernama, August 8, 2023.