UMNO grassroots leaders from several divisions in Selangor said they are still waiting for instructions to start working officially with Pakatan Harapan (PH) for the upcoming state election.
“I have not received any instructions from the party to start groundwork with PH ahead of the polls, which must be held after June,” news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported Shah Alam UMNO chief Datuk Azhari Shaari as saying.
“Without official instructions from party leaders, a technical committee which would allow both parties to discuss their plans for political activities in Shah Alam, could not be formed.”
Azhari added that for the time being, the cooperation is more on the individual level, involving leaders of both sides.
Meanwhile, Ampang UMNO chief Nadzim Ibrahim said Barisan Nasional (BN)-PH cooperation in the division only involved attending programmes held by the coalitions during Ramadan.
According to Nadzim, the cooperation is good thus far with both sides still planning joint political programmes but require official instructions from top UMNO leadership to go ahead.
Sepang UMNO chairman Noorazli Said on the other hand stated that PH and UMNO have begun cooperating in his division and exchanging information in order to reach out to voters.
“There was some misunderstanding at the grassroots level at first but after explanation and holding several joint programmes, UMNO members in Sepang were beginning to accept their PH counterparts,” said Noorazli.
According FMT, the said divisions have reached out to UMNO secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and his PH counterpart Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for confirmation on whether both sides have issued official instructions for their grassroots to cooperate ahead of the state election.
Moreover, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Terengganu, Kelantan and Kedah will also hold state elections after the terms of their legislative assemblies end in June.
Earlier in February, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook said that DAP and PH grassroots members had struggled to engage with BN at the local level. – May 3, 2023
Main photo credit: New Straits Times
