PONTIAN: Barisan Nasional (BN) is expected to concentrate on rural seats while Pakatan Harapan (PH) takes on urban constituencies in Sabah under a seat-sharing deal concluded for the upcoming state election, the New Straits Times reported on Sunday.
Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (pic) said the arrangement highlighted the strength of the BN-PH alliance and reflected a clear strategy ahead of the polls.
He said the number of seats allocated to BN would be announced by party leaders, but confirmed that PH would contest in urban areas through either DAP or PKR while BN would focus on rural constituencies.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});The Pontian MP, who also heads Umno’s central war room secretariat, added that preparations this time were more structured compared with the 2020 Sabah polls.
Ahmad said he had already visited 20 party divisions in Sabah, with five more pending inspection as part of the early groundwork.
On Saturday, BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that the deal with PH was finalised without overlaps and stressed that no negotiations were held with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) out of respect for PH.
The 16th Sabah assembly will dissolve automatically on Nov 11 unless dissolved earlier, paving the way for the state’s 17th election, with Ahmad expressing confidence that the alliance’s preparations and combined leadership would yield better results.