KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today that it was because of Allah's providence that Barisan Nasional is a part of the unity government.
The BN chairman said that logically, the party having the largest number of parliamentary seats should have formed the government.
Having only secured 30 seats, he said that BN should have been in the opposition, but God's intervention turned the tables in their favour.
"We can plan, but eventually Allah has already decided something else.
"We should be on the opposition side, but though (Perikatan Nasional) have more than 70 seats, they are in the opposition while we are in government," he said in an interview streamed live on the NRChannel TV YouTube channel.
Zahid said BN had made its own analysis about choosing its political alliances to form the government after the 15th General Election (GE15).
Though choosing either would bring harm to the party, he said, they had to choose which bring the least harm.
Hence, the party chose to be with Pakatan Harapan (PH).
Zahid said PN had contested and won in the majority of the seats BN held before, and as such, the parties would be locking horns in the same constituencies.
PH, he added, was a more viable alternative for BN's political survival.
"With them, there is a huge potential to win back the votes," he added.
As the new unity government has secured two-thirds majority in Parliament, Zahid said he believes it will bring the stability that the country needs.
This, in turn, will be reflected in increased foreign direct investments to improve the economy, eventually leading to the government being able to solve the people's woes by minimising unemployment and addressing cost of living issues.
When asked if BN was happy with the six ministerial positions it has been given in the government, he said that they are thankful for the trust given to them.
"Alhamdulillah, and thanks to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the positions.
"We only have 30 seats but we were given six posts, but there are other parties winning over 40 and only given four posts. We are grateful," he said.