KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today the coalition is willing to ally itself with other parties in order to secure a supermajority in the next general election.
When asked by the press if the coalition will be able to win the 15th general election by itself, the Umno president said that he agrees with what other senior party members have said about forming alliances before or after the election.
"We follow what we have said about forming a coalition with other political parties to get a two-thirds majority.
"And we need a majority because it is one necessity to form a government,” he told reporters at the sidelines of BN's 48th anniversary at the World Trade Centre.
However, he added that this can only happen after the Anti-Hopping Bill is passed in Parliament.
"We want a party that’s not threatened and affected by any politicians who wanna take steps to bring us down.
"So we want the Anti-hoping Bill to be passed so we can prevent this,” he added.
Pakatan Harapan had won the last election in 2018 but its administration collapsed after former component Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia allied itself with Umno and PAS to form the Perikatan Nasional government.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and de facto law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar have promised on several occasions that the Bill would be tabled, especially during the previous parliamentary sitting from February 28 and March 24.
The Bill has been a major point of interest for the Opposition, especially as PH signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government where it agreed to abstain from challenging official policy, in return for several concessions including the passing of a Bill to deter party-hopping.
