As far as the former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar is concerned, talks on the matter were still ongoing according to the Muafakat Nasional (MN) main committee, which meets every fortnight.

“I read about this (talks being suspended) in the media, but at the recent (MN main committee) meeting, it was stated that discussions on seat allocations between Umno and PAS would continue.

“In fact, we agreed on a formula that our respective parties would defend the seats that we had won, and also another formula whereby between the two, the one who garnered the highest number of votes (in the seats they lost) would get to contest the seats concerned,” he told reporters after officiating the Bangkit 15 programme closing ceremony here today.

The media had quoted PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang as saying that PAS had sent its representatives for seat allocation discussions with PPBM, adding that similar talks with Umno have been put on hold as the party (Umno) was currently facing internal issues.

Responding to this, Mohamad said Umno would seek clarification from PAS at the next MN meeting, adding that both parties were still on good terms.

Asked on calls by some quarters within Umno for the party to hold elections, which were originally scheduled for this June, he said that would depend on ongoing developments, especially the Covid-19 pandemic, which has kept recording high numbers.

“In the current situation, we are looking at daily Covid-19 cases, because during elections members must be present. Currently, there are difficulties as the pandemic has not eased. We need to adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs).

“For example, in the Rembau (Umno division), there are 1,100 delegates. Therefore, we have to look for a hall that can accommodate 3,000 people to comply with the SOPs.

“We cannot just allow 20% to attend as the meeting will be declared null and void. These are the constraints we are now looking into,” he said.