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SHAH ALAM — The political partnership between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should not be viewed as a permanent or guaranteed arrangement, said Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
Asked whether Anwar and Zahid were “still friends” following Barisan Nasional’s (BN) strong performances in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections, Ahmad replied: “Not necessarily.”
The Pontian MP made the remark during a light-hearted exchange on whether the political cooperation between the two leaders could be taken for granted.
When pressed on whether Anwar and Zahid were “definitely together”, Ahmad repeated: “Not necessarily. We look at what is going to happen in Melaka.”
His comments come after BN recorded major victories in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, despite contesting separately from Pakatan Harapan (PH), its partner in the Federal Government.
In Johor, BN contested on it own and won 48 of the 56 state seats. In Negeri Sembilan, BN formed a pact with Perikatan Nasional (PN) to secure a two-thirds majority of a combined 25 seats in the recently-concluded election.
Ahmad suggested BN could continue making electoral gains without PH, saying: “I think we are going to win again in Melaka without PH, so it will be three in a row. PH won’t be with us…”
He was referring to the string of state election victories involving BN, including contests in Sabah and Sarawak, where the coalition performed strongly without PH as a partner.
However, when asked about the possibility of BN cooperating with PH in the 16th General Election, Ahmad indicated that the possibility was not entirely ruled out — particularly if DAP was no longer part of the coalition equation.
“If PH did not have DAP, we may be working together, but that is unlikely,” he said.
The remarks highlighta growing questions over the durability of the unity government arrangement, as BN seeks to rebuild its electoral strength while PH faces the challenge of maintaining its appeal among voters ahead of GE16.