IPOH: Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today gave his assurance that there will be no seat overlap with Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties in the 16th General Election (GE16).
Zahid said that since the cooperation established with PH two years ago, both coalitions must help and work together to ensure the stability of the country
"In politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies. What we have is permanent interest.
"But for me, in this situation, it is not about individual interest, not just the interest of BN, not just the interest of PH, but we must protect the interest of the unity government that we have established together in Perak and the entire country," he said.
Zahid, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, said this in his speech at the Perak BN Convention here, today.
Present were Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, and Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Zahid said in the upcoming election, BN including Umno, MCA and MIC would reclaim the seats they had lost and it was crucial for the BN-PH component parties to help each other.
"We must help each other. Don't worry, there will be no issue of seat overlap. Let me discuss it with the 'abang tua' (elderly brother) from PKR, who is our main leader (Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim).
"Don't worry about overlapping seats, we will negotiate. We are like siblings. In the past, I was allergic to seeing Asmuni Alwi (Perak Amanah chairman) and he was allergic to me too.
"That was old news, a story from two years ago. Now the political era has changed. What was once our enemy is now our friend.
"What we once hated, we now love. Now we even 'kiss' between BN and PH, just don't get caught in an inappropriate situation," he said adding that this is the reality of new politics in the country.
In a press conference later, Zahid said that everyone could propose candidates, but trust must be placed in the top leadership to prevent any overlaps.
"No discussions have been held so far, and they will take place after Parliament and the state assemblies are dissolved," he said.