ALOR GAJAH, Jan 3 — Melaka Umno wants to defend all the seats it won during the 14th General Election (GE14), state party liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said.

Ab Rauf, who is State Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman said seats originally won by Umno and BN such as Masjid Tanah, after which the incumbent jumped party, would not be given to other parties.

As for seats not won by Umno and BN, the decision to field candidates would depend on consideration and negotiations between allied parties, he said.

"However, Umno will respect (other decisions) if negotiations are held to strengthen cooperation between parties,” he told reporters after officiating the Masjid Tanah Umno delegates meeting here today.

In GE14, BN through Umno won two of the six parliamentary seats it contested, Masjid Tanah and Jasin, besides winning 13 of the 28 state assembly seats.

However, in December 2018, Masjid Tanah MP Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin joined Bersatu.

Meanwhile, in LABUAN, the Umno division delegates meeting unanimously backed a motion for its division chief and Labuan MP, Senator Datuk Bashir Alias, to defend his parliamentary seat in GE15.

Apart from strengthening cooperation in Muafakat Nasional, the delegates also supported the party’s central working committee’s stand to reject any form of cooperation with DAP and Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. — Bernama