PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional will not cooperate with the fledgling Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) in the coming 15th General Election, says Umno supreme council member Isham Jalil.
He said it would complicate current relations with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) if Barisan cooperated with PBM.
"One of their (PBM) MPs is from Julau and if he decides to stand there, we could be in conflict with GPS.
"So, the conclusion is, we will go solo," said Isham during a town hall session with Subang Jaya residents on Tuesday (Sept 20).
Isham was referring to Larry Sng, who is presently Julau MP and PBM president.
PBM applied to join Barisan in July but it has yet to receive a response from the coalition.
In August, PBM announced that it would cooperate with the Barisan-friendly Parti Kuasa Rakyat.
Barisan deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan had said that its component parties have to agree in consensus on PBM's application.
Isham also took a pot shot at PAS, accusing the Islamist party of being undecided in cooperating with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in Perikatan Nasional, given its disastrous outing in the Melaka state election last November and the Johor election in March.
"Everybody knows that when you go to an election using a new symbol, you will be crushed," added Isham.
In the Melaka state election last year, PAS failed to win any seats and in the Johor state election in March, the Islamist party only managed to win one state seat – Maharani.
Earlier this month, Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi denied that the coalition would cooperate with PAS, saying that trust was lost when the Islamist party decided to cooperate with Bersatu under the Perikatan banner.
In August 2020, PAS became a formal member of Perikatan, led by Bersatu.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan had said that the Islamist party's political enemies was Pakatan Harapan and not Barisan.
Despite the snub by Ahmad Zahid, Takiyuddin said PAS was optimistic that it could avoid clashing with Barisan in the next general election.
