KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — Barisan Nasional (BN) has assured non-Malay voters they will not be sidelined if the coalition secures victory in the upcoming Negeri Sembilan state election, despite its cooperation with Perikatan Nasional (PN).
According to The Star, BN deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said claims by rivals that minorities would be marginalised were unfounded, stressing that BN remained the dominant force in the partnership.
“Barisan is like the biggest shareholder in a company as we will be contesting 25 seats while PAS will contest five, Wawasan four and two more by other party candidates. The majority shareholder is still Barisan and non-Malays have no reason to be unduly worried,” he told The Star.
He added that seven of BN’s seats had been allocated to MCA and two to MIC, while PN was also fielding non-Muslim candidates.
“There is nothing to be concerned about as our friends have also openly said the menteri besar post will go to Barisan,” he was quoted as saying.
Mohamad argued that cooperation with PN was aimed at consolidating Malay support and avoiding vote splitting.
He noted that voter response to the BN–PN pact had been more positive than BN’s previous collaboration with Pakatan Harapan in 2023.
