MATUNGGONG: Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has not ruled out the possibility of Kudat MP Datuk Verdon Bahanda and Kota Marudu MP Datuk Wetrom Bahanda joining the coalition in the future.
For now, their political affiliation remains listed as “others”.
Zahid said he had entrusted BN Sabah Chairman Datuk Sri Arthur Joseph Kurup to negotiate with the two MPs.
He said if an agreement was reached, he would endorse it as the national BN Chairman after the matter was brought before the BN Supreme Council.
“Every time there is a parliamentary sitting, both of them will meet me. It is not only about requesting allocations, but also other forms of assistance for voters and the people in the constituencies they represent.
“In Parliament, both leaders sit on the Government bench, not the Opposition bench. This means the people of Kota Marudu and Kudat are quite fortunate. Although they contested as independents, their hearts are with the current Government. It is only reasonable for us to help both of them,” Zahid said.
He said this after officiating the Rungus Cultural Festival organised by the Persatuan Momogun Rungus Malaysia (PMRM) at the association’s hall here, recently.
Also present were Arthur; festival organising chairman and Kudat MP Verdon; and PMRM President and Kota Marudu MP Wetrom.
Verdon, an independent, won Kudat with a majority of 1,967 votes, while Wetrom, who contested under KDM, won Kota Marudu with a majority of 8,174 votes in the 15th General Election (GE15) in 2022.
However, Verdon lost in Tanjung Kapor while Wetrom lost in Matunggong in the Nov 29, 2025 Sabah election.
Zahid said Kudat and Kota Marudu were among the poorer areas in the State and therefore needed assistance from both the Federal and State governments.
“We must remain prepared and ready to ensure that the blue wave will also reach Sabah, just as the blue wave has swept proudly through Johor and reached Negeri Sembilan.
“We are not seeking to destabilise or undermine the unity government in Putrajaya. We must take good care of that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zahid said BN was prepared to negotiate seat allocations or seat swaps with other parties if necessary, provided this did not affect the number of seats held by each party involved.
Although there was room for negotiations on seat swaps, he said the principle remained that seats won by any party must be respected and the number of seats retained must remain unchanged.
“In deciding seat allocations ahead of the Melaka state election, BN is not completely closing the door to negotiations, but neither are we opening it too widely.
“If they can do so with a guarantee of sincerity and honesty, I do not see why the Melaka Chief Minister cannot do it,” he said.
