Kelantan Umno open to BN-PN tie-up, but wants 'red lines' respected

Umno Kelantan says it is open to any political cooperation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the state, provided that agreed "red lines" are respected by both parties.

State information chief Zawawi Othman said the party would abide by the decision of the top leadership should a cooperation model similar to the one in Negeri Sembilan be implemented in Kelantan.

However, he said political cooperation must be based on mutual understanding and could not ignore agreed boundaries, particularly when one side holds a more dominant position.

"Every cooperation certainly has red lines that must be respected by both sides.

"The cooperation will work as long as nothing bad happens between one another," he told FMT. (Quote translated from Bahasa Melayu.)

No talks yet in Perlis

Meanwhile, Perlis Umno chief Rozabil Abd Rahman said there had been no negotiations with PN on any electoral cooperation in the state.

He said BN, which does not hold a single seat in the Perlis state assembly, is currently focused on strengthening the party across all state and parliamentary constituencies.

"In a situation where BN does not have any seats in the Perlis assembly, we are working and focusing on all state and parliamentary areas," he said.

Zawawi and Rozabil were asked to comment on the possibility of the BN-PN cooperation being extended to Kelantan and Perlis, two states governed by PAS.

In the last general election, BN won only two of the 45 state seats in Kelantan and failed to secure any seat in Perlis.

BN and PN previously worked together in the Negeri Sembilan state election before forming the government after the two coalitions won 25 of the 36 state seats.