MELAKA – Negotiations between Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) on political cooperation for the upcoming Melaka state election have begun.
Pas president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang said the discussions, which began three days ago, involved representatives from the central leadership of both parties.
Although the negotiations remain at an early stage, he said the talks had so far shown positive progress.
"Preparations at the party level have already begun and are ongoing and these discussions will continue to the next stage.
"We do not know when the election will be held, but we have already discussed cooperation," he told reporters after attending the Melaka State Charity Dinner at a hotel here on Sunday night.
Also present were PN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who is also Pas vice-president and Melaka Pas commissioner Zulkifli Ismail.
Hadi, however, said it was too early to determine whether the proposed PN-BN cooperation would eventually be realised.
"It is still at an early stage, but even at this early stage, it has already shown very good progress.
"The progress of the discussions, Alhamdulillah, is very positive. We are drawing inspiration from what succeeded in Johor and Negeri Sembilan," he added.
His comments came after PN chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said on Saturday that discussions between PN and BN were moving closer to an understanding on cooperation for the Melaka state election.
Takiyuddin said the initial talks had received positive feedback from BN, although the details of the cooperation, including the division of state seats, had yet to be finalised.