Pakatan open to Bersatu tie-up for Melaka state election as Amirudin says ‘that is politics’

Pakatan Harapan election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the coalition is open to considering cooperation with Bersatu in the coming Melaka state election. — Bernama pic

By Malay Mail

First Published: Saturday, 29 Aug 2026 4:07 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) is open to working with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in the coming Melaka state election, Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said, signalling that even former political adversaries could become potential partners as parties manoeuvre ahead of the polls.

The New Straits Times reported that the PH election director said the coalition had no objection to considering cooperation with Bersatu or other parties if circumstances required it and if such an arrangement could help ensure political stability.

“Bersatu? If we can accept working with Umno, surely, we can accept Bersatu.

“For example, we previously worked with Umno, and before that, we worked with Bersatu.

“Then there was the Sheraton Move. PAS has also worked with Bersatu, PAS has separated from Bersatu, PAS has separated from Umno, and PAS has wanted to work with Umno. That is politics,” Amirudin told reporters after officiating the Madani Kita programme with the Ampang Jaya community today.

His remarks come amid increasingly fluid negotiations over the Melaka election, with PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) expected to discuss electoral cooperation while PAS has also reportedly held preliminary talks with Umno.

Bersatu, however, was reportedly excluded from those PAS-Umno discussions.

Amirudin, who is also Selangor menteri besar, suggested the shifting alliances need not necessarily be seen as a sign of political instability.

“If people see this as political uncertainty, then it is political uncertainty.

“But if people see it as a new form of political maturity, it could change Malaysia’s political landscape,” he said.

He said PH remained united and had previously shown that it was prepared to make compromises with other parties, including allowing BN to contest seats in Selangor that had previously been won by PH.

Amirudin said PH would prepare for various possibilities in Melaka while ensuring that cooperation within the coalition remained intact.

Any prospective alliance, he said, would have to be based on sincerity and a clear commitment to preserving the stability and prosperity achieved under the unity government.

He also invoked the political turmoil that followed the Sheraton Move in 2020, which led to the collapse of the then PH federal government.

“We do not want to repeat that, and we need to establish a stable government,” he said.

Amirudin has been tasked with handling possible electoral cooperation between PH and BN in Melaka.

The current Melaka state assembly’s term expires at the end of December, with an election required within 60 days of its dissolution.

BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has previously said the coalition intends to defend all 21 seats it won in the 2021 Melaka election, while remaining open to electoral cooperation.

BN won 21 of the state assembly’s 28 seats in that election, while PH secured five and Perikatan Nasional (PN) two.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has meanwhile said PN would drop cooperation with BN if BN chose to contest alongside PH.