UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has stressed that no agreement has been concluded between UMNO and PAS following claims that the two parties are negotiating seat allocations ahead of the Negeri Sembilan state election.
The Deputy Prime Minister said any discussions between the two parties, if they took place, remained at the level of mutual understanding and had not progressed into a formal arrangement.
“What has been stated should not necessarily be accepted as an entirely accurate statement because we do not have any agreement with PAS.
“If there have been discussions, they are only at the level of mutual understanding, and we have not finalised any discussions,” he told reporters after attending a luncheon with the TVET@KKDW contingent participating in the WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 competition on Monday.
Zahid said developments during the Johor state election served as a reminder that statements made before polling did not always reflect the actual situation during candidate nomination or on election day.
“We should simply give the benefit of the doubt to any statements made by PAS and view them as political statements because they can change their position at any time,” he said.
He added that all parties should remain cautious and not place excessive confidence in any political announcements before a formal agreement was reached.
The remarks followed PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang’s reported statement that the party was prepared to accept an UMNO candidate as Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar if cooperation between the two parties could be successfully finalised.
The statement came after PAS adopted an approach of supporting BN candidates in seats where no Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate contested during the Johor state election.
Abdul Hadi had also said discussions on the distribution of state assembly seats for the Negeri Sembilan election were ongoing and described the negotiations as highly positive.
However, Zahid maintained that UMNO had yet to commit to any formal seat-sharing arrangement with PAS. - July 13, 2026
