MELAKA: Barisan Nasional is prepared to negotiate seat swaps with potential allies for the coming Melaka election, but its demand to contest 21 seats remains firm, says Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.
The Melaka Barisan chairman said the coalition was open to discussing which constituencies it would contest, provided its allocation remained at the number of seats it won in the 2021 state election.
"The 21 seats are a boundary I have made clear, and we are negotiating to retain that number.
“We are discussing possible swaps involving several seats, but the total must remain at 21,” he told a press conference at Seri Negeri here on Wednesday (Oct 7).
Ab Rauf, who is the caretaker Melaka Chief Minister, illustrated his position with the Malay saying “empat cupak tetap satu gantang”, indicating that any exchange would leave the overall allocation unchanged.
He said the negotiations were aimed at building a stronger team by assessing the contribution each prospective partner could make.
“We have seen many expressing interest on social media in joining forces with us and we will conduct these negotiations in stages.
“We will announce our strategic partners before nomination day,” he said.
However, Ab Rauf said he would not decide on the coalition’s partners alone, as the proposals would be submitted to the Umno supreme council for its endorsement.
He also confirmed that all candidate names proposed by Umno division chiefs had been submitted to him, with further scrutiny required before selections were made.
“All the names have been handed to me. They still need to be studied and analysed from every angle before I can make an assessment,” he said.
All 28 state seats will be contested in the 16th Melaka state election.
Barisan won 21 seats in the 2021 election, while Pakatan Harapan secured five and Perikatan Nasional took two.
The Election Commission announced on Wednesday (Oct 7) that nomination day would be on Oct 31, followed by early voting on Nov 10 and polling on Nov 14.
