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BUTTERWORTH - Umno has rejected accusations that its state-level election strategies amount to “stabbing Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the back”, saying the parties’ cooperation agreement applies primarily at the federal level.
Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said no state-level agreement existed between Umno and PH in Johor, Negeri Sembilan or Melaka, leaving the party free to pursue strategies aimed at maximising its electoral prospects.
“The leadership must choose a method that delivers maximum victory, not defeat. If we had not taken strategic steps in Negeri Sembilan, Barisan Nasional (BN) would have lost.
“Which party wants to lose? That was a strategic move taken to win,” he told a press conference after officiating the Contractors’ Convention 2026 at the Picca Convention Centre here on Tuesday.
Ahmad was responding to criticism raised at PKR’s 2026 National Congress in Melaka last weekend, where delegates accused Umno of being disingenuous in its cooperation with PH and “stabbing PKR in the back”.
Delegates cited elections in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, where they claimed the PH-Umno partnership was not reflected and PH suffered significant setbacks.
Ahmad said the same principle applied in Sabah and Sarawak, where Umno also had no state-level cooperation agreements with PH.
“There is also no agreement in Melaka. Let us wait for the decision.
“We will hold an Umno supreme council meeting on Aug 28, and this matter will certainly be discussed,” he said.
He maintained that Umno-BN remained committed to the Unity Government until the end of its term, in accordance with the agreement signed by its component parties.
“Our crucial agreement is at the federal level, and we are fulfilling it. The Umno president and BN chairman has repeatedly said that we will remain with the Unity Government until the end of the term because we signed the agreement,” he said.
Ahmad argued that state-level strategies should not be characterised as betrayal when they did not breach any existing agreement.
“Strategic steps are taken for the party’s survival. Other parties also take strategic steps for their own survival,” he said.
He cited DAP’s decision to hold a vote at its party congress on remaining in the Unity Government as an example of a party responding strategically to differing views among its members.
Ahmad said Umno must also prevent Malay votes from being divided in three-cornered contests, particularly in Negeri Sembilan.
“If the Malay vote is split in a three-cornered fight in Negeri Sembilan, Umno-BN loses. Therefore, we must choose the path to victory. It is a strategic move, not a stab in the back,” he said.
