BN suspends officer over Zahid’s PH-like statement

Barisan Nasional (BN) has slapped a one-month suspension on its chief media officer pending an internal investigation into the publication of a statement carrying the coalition’s logo which was found to be almost identical to a separate statement issued by Pakatan Harapan.

BN’s executive secretary Mohamad Sahfri Ab Aziz said the statement was distributed without prior approval from BN’s Supreme Council.

Sahfri said the statement which bore the name of BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi did not reflect the decision reached by coalition leaders, who met last night following Umno’s earlier decision not to cooperate with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at the next general election.

The BN statement signed by Zahid was released around the same time as another statement by PH, signed by its chairman Anwar Ibrahim, was distributed online.

MalaysiaNow today reported that the two statements were almost identical, with passages written in the same tone and corresponding word for word.

This was followed by a statement from PAS, which said it rejected any attempt at cooperation with PH or its allies.

The Islamist party also said it was “committed to strengthening the relationships and cooperation among Umno, Bersatu and PAS, along with other colleagues for the sake of the continued rule of the country”.

It said PAS would also boost its efforts to strengthen the Muafakat Nasional alliance formed with Umno in September last year when the parties were still in the opposition.