MELAKA: Seat negotiations for the Melaka polls have been finalised, with seven seats allocated to Barisan Nasional’s strategic partners, says caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.
“We have reached the stage of finalising all negotiations, giving seven seats to our strategic partners. There is no problem and no overlap,” he told a press conference after Barisan unveiled its 21 candidates here last night.
Ab Rauf, who is Melaka Barisan chairman, said all parties had agreed to the arrangement.
“Why would there be any changes? We looked at every angle before deciding and finalising the candidates’ names, so why would there be a need for changes? Unless the candidate dies,” he said.
Ab Rauf also noted that no incumbents were dropped by Barisan, although eight of its 21 candidates are new faces.
Of the 21 seats contested by Barisan, two had been allocated to MCA and one to MIC, he said.
MCA is understood to be unhappy with the allocation, having contested seven seats in the 2021 election.
Asked about MCA’s position, Ab Rauf said he did not have full details of the matter.
Yesterday, Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the coalition would stick to the seven-seat arrangement with PAS.
Meanwhile, Ab Rauf said there would be no clash with Barisan’s partners in Sungai Udang, where Datuk Rais Yasin is contesting in a seat won by Perikatan Nasional in 2021.
Incumbent Dr Mohd Aleef Yusof, who has since joined Parti Wawasan Negara, had urged Barisan to respect Perikatan’s right to defend the seat.
“If he wants to make noise, that is his right.
“We are not dealing with him,” Ab Rauf said, adding that Aleef was not from Umno.
“This is a way towards the unity between PAS and Umno that the people have long been waiting for,” he said of the pact.
Nomination is scheduled for Oct 31, with polling on Nov 14.
