BN chairman Zahid says coalition will end ties with Pakatan once Parliament dissolves

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today made he saw no possibility of cooperation between his coalition and Pakatan Harapan (PH), amid talks that relations between the two sides have hit “an all time low”.

Speaking at the 18th annual general assembly of the Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, the Umno president “promised” that BN would “part ways” the moment Parliament is dissolved, in an apparent response to calls for the coalition to stop all forms of political cooperation with PH in the Unity Government.

“The moment the current Parliament is dissolved, we will no longer be part of that government,” he said in his opening address today, The Star quoted Zahid as saying.

BN and PH are currently in the governing federal coalition, but leaders like Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin confirmed that ties between Zahid and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim have soured in recent months as the two sides clashed at the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.

At the same event, Parti Makkal Sakti Malaysia president Datuk Seri RS Thanenthiran urged Zahid to pull BN out of the Unity government as soon as possible.

“Parti Makkal Sakti Malaysia proposes that Barisan Nasional leave the Madani Government as soon as possible,” Thanenthiran was quoted as saying by The Star.

He also noted that several Umno leaders had faced arrests and investigations, adding that it appeared there were attempts to pressure BN and its leadership into giving way.

The call comes amid talks of internal pressure for BN to end its alliance with PH.

Zahid himself has made comments seen as critical of Anwar at public events, including daring him to call for elections this year, although he has often told reporters on the sidelines that Umno remains “committed” to seeing through its alliance with PH until the end of the term.