Melaka election: PH open to supporters backing Bersatu candidates

MELAKA: State Pakatan Harapan has no objection if its supporters vote for Bersatu candidates in constituencies not contested by the coalition in the election.

Its chairman, Adly Zahari, said although there was no formal cooperation between PH and Bersatu, the approach taken in this election was aimed at minimising clashes with the party led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, thereby creating room for such support.

He said PH also hoped Bersatu would adopt a similar approach by supporting PH candidates in constituencies contested by the coalition.

"Basically, we know that our rivals are Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional. So, our supporters would not want to vote for BN or PN.

"As such, in constituencies we are not contesting, there may be an opportunity for our supporters to back Bersatu, which shares similar aspirations.

"At the PH level, we welcome such support," he said in a 16th Melaka election special podcast on BH Online.

In the upcoming election, PH is fielding candidates in 24 state seats, while Bersatu is contesting seven, three of which will see clashes between the two parties.

Adly, who is also Amanah vice-president, said although Bersatu had signed a Confidence and Supply Agreement (CSA) with representatives of the Madani government to ensure political stability, this did not necessarily guarantee political cooperation between them.

He said PH faced challenges in building such cooperation, particularly because of its history of political ties with Bersatu, which continued to influence the acceptance of some grassroots supporters.

"That is the nature of politics; there are always dynamics involved. We also face challenges, as not all our supporters are able to accept this cooperation.

"This is because we have to deal with past issues involving the party (Bersatu). Building political consensus or cooperation is not easy.

"Old sentiments continue to haunt us, and even the machinery is not working together. We see that every time there is cooperation, it comes with its own challenges," he said.

Asked whether PH and Bersatu would share campaign platforms during the election campaign, Adly, who is also Alor Gajah member of parliament, said both parties were expected to campaign separately for now.

He said establishing cooperation between their grassroots machinery could take longer to materialise.

"What we welcome at this stage is support. There may not be enough time to establish collaboration between our campaign machinery.

"But we welcome support from all quarters for PH. That is all," he said.