GEORGE TOWN, July 3 — All Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties must accept the final seats allocated for the six state elections, the coalition’s deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan said today.
The Umno deputy president also known as Tok Mat said the decision on seat allocation would be made by BN and ally Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) presidential councils.
“The decision will be announced in two to three days’ time,” he said in a press conference before attending a closed-door Umno meeting here.
He said once the presidential councils announce the decision, all components in all six states should accept it.
“The decision by the presidential council is final, there will not be any more negotiations after that,” he said.
The Umno deputy president said if the component parties in BN do not accept the decision, it may lead to dissatisfaction within the coalition.
“If there are disputes about it, we will not be able to manage the state elections well,” he said, telling the parties that the focus this time is for them to win whichever seats they are given.
Meanwhile, on preparations for the state elections, he said BN components in all states have been ordered to coordinate with PH to face the state polls together.
“Coordination works in the six states have already started and I believe it will be launched soon,” he said.
When asked about the challenges the so-called Perikatan Nasional “wave” presented, he said there is no such thing.
“We need to focus on strengthening our party first so that we will be able to weather whatever wave that comes our way,” he said, adding that BN has been prepared for the state elections since the 15th general election last year.
The state legislative assemblies for the six states — Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor — were dissolved over the last two weeks paving the way for state elections to be held in August.
