Ismail Sabri warms up to idea of coalition govt if nobody commands simple majority in GE15

ALOR GAJAH, Nov 9 — Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri said today that a coalition government will likely be formed should no coalition emerges as a dominant winner of the 15th general election (GE15).

The Umno vice-president said otherwise it would result in a hung Parliament.

“If there is not one party that has a simple majority, of course it will be mixed, otherwise it will be a hung Parliament. I don’t know if there is another party that will have a simple majority.

“But if there is no party that has a simple majority alone to form things, there has to be a coalition,” said Ismail when met by reporters during a walkabout with Umno Youth deputy chief Shahril Hamdan here in Durian Tunggal.

Durian Tunggal is a state seat under the Alor Gajah parliamentary seat that is contested by Shahril under the Barisan Nasional (BN) ticket.

The GE15 will see six major coalitions contesting federal seats: Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional (PN), Pakatan Harapan (PH), Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA), Gabungan Rakyat Sarawak (GRS) and Gabungan Parti Sabah (GPS).

When asked if the coalition government would include PKR, Ismail Sabri said it was a decision which cannot be made by an individual such as himself.

“A big decision like this the party needs to make a decision, as individuals we can’t make a decision whether to [include] PKR or PN or PH or not want that or want this,” he said.

His remarks came following accusations by ally-turned-rival PN that Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will ally himself with PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Asked also about Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim if he could be accepted back into Umno, Ismail Sabri said to wait until after the Umno election.

“We are waiting for the Umno election. It is too early to speculate,” he said.

Shahidan, a former Perlis mentri besar is defending his Arau parliamentary seat under a PN ticket after being dropped as a BN candidate.

He has since been expelled from Umno for contesting under an opponent’s ticket.