Twist In Tale As Zahid Says BN Never Agreed To Form Govt With GPS & PN
The Barisan Nasional chairperson denied that his coalition engaged in any talks with Gabungan Parti Sarawak to form a federal government with Perikatan Nasional.
By Sadho Ram — 20 Nov 2022, 09:37 PM
UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has denied that Barisan Nasional (BN) had any talks with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to form a federal government with Perikatan Nasional (PN)
Zahid, who is also the BN chairperson, outrightly dismissed GPS chairperson Abang Johari Openg's claim that the two coalitions will join PN together with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to form a government.
According to Zahid, there have been no negotiations between BN and PN.
"Referring to a statement by GPS chairman and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, I will like to stress that BN has never once negotiated with GPS to give its agreement on forming a federal government with PN. I will also like to add that to date, there have been no discussions with PN on forming a federal government with them," New Straits Times reported him as saying in a statement tonight, 20 November.
He also reminded BN MPs they have signed a pledge giving him the mandate to determine any political cooperation to form a government
While he is under pressure to step down from the UMNO president post after BN's poor performance in the 15th General Election (GE15), Zahid noted that all BN members of parliament (MPs) have signed a pledge giving him the mandate as chairman to determine any political coalitions to form the federal government.
"Any MPs who go against party orders will see them being stripped of their membership, as well as their seat, in line with the anti-party hopping law under Article 49A of the Federal Constitution," he said.
