JOHOR BARU, July 27 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi disclosed that several political parties indicated their interest in meeting him and his PKR counterpart Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to discuss forming an electoral pact for the 16th general election due by 2028.
Without naming the parties or their representatives, Ahmad Zahid who is also the deputy prime minister said his party has learnt its lesson.
“Earlier there was a delegation that wanted to meet me and Anwar. However, I am currently not prepared yet to engage with any of the concerned political party representatives.
“My advice was not to be bitten by the same snake twice in the same place,” he said in his opening speech at the Tebrau Umno division meeting at the Dewan Taman Adda Heights here last night.
He is believed to be alluding to the short-lived Muafakat Nasional (MN) political alliance between Umno and PAS.
Also present at the event was Johor Umno secretary and the party’s Tebrau divisional chief Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman who was accompanied by Pulai Umno division chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, who is also the Dewan Negara deputy president.
Ahmad Zahid was responding to earlier reports of discussions between PAS and Umno leaders on collaborating for the coming general election.
The Barisan Nasional chairman said that Umno needs to ensure that its position as a party is strong and resolute before it partakes in discussions with others.
“This is the art of negotiations. If we are weak, then we should refrain from attending any invitation for negotiations,” he added in his speech.
Last Tuesday, Ahmad Zahid denied that he had participated in any official talks with PAS or even met any leaders from the Islamist party.
He was reported to have said that any meetings between Umno and PAS leaders were done in a personal capacity and not official.
This was because a day before, PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari told reporters that his party colleagues had been meeting their Umno counterparts recently.
According to Ahmad Fadhli, the meetings were conducted informally and involved leaders of both parties to explore how to unite divided Malay votes.
On July 8, Ahmad Zahid stated that Umno will not cooperate with PAS as long as Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang remains its president.
Ahmad Zahid said the decision was based on Umno's previous bitter experience in cooperating with PAS under the MN political pact.
MN was formed in September 2019 and was aimed at toppling the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, which had taken over federal power from Barisan Nasional after winning the national polls in 2018.
