PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional is targeting a strong majority of more than 21 seats in the upcoming Melaka state election, driven by the state government's performance and public response to its programmes, says Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
Ahmad, who is also Umno War Room Secretariat chief, said the confidence also took into account the possibility of cooperation with PAS, which is still under negotiation.
"We are confident of winning 21 or more seats based on the performance of the Melaka state government, which has been quite good in the eyes of the people," he said on Saturday (Oct 3).
"The Exco programmes with the people, the Melaka Sayang Rakyat programme and the Wakil Rakyat Untuk Rakyat programme have all helped resolve people's problems effectively," he added.
He said state leaders had also held open days in all 28 state constituencies, with Exco members and government officers ground-to-ground to resolve public issues.
"Thousands of people's problems have been resolved," he said after officiating the annual general meeting of the Pertubuhan Kebajikan Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti (PKPDK) Sinar Bakti in Lorong Bilal here.
According to *Sinar Harian*, Ahmad said he had made several visits to Melaka, including discussions with the state's War Room, to assess political developments and current public sentiment.
Ahmad, who is also Deputy Works Minister, expressed hope that negotiations with PAS would continue to determine a suitable form of cooperation for the state election.
"In my view, if PAS agrees, I think it would be very good to continue," he said.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki had earlier confirmed that negotiations and discussions with PAS for the Melaka state election were ongoing.
He said the negotiations, including discussions on the use of logos, were progressing positively.
In the 2021 Melaka state election, Barisan won 21 of the 28 seats to form the state government, while Pakatan Harapan won five and Perikatan Nasional won two.
