KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — Barisan Nasional (BN) has said it will retain the 21 seats it won in the previous Melaka state election, leaving Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) component parties to negotiate over the remaining seven constituencies as discussions over electoral cooperation continue ahead of next month’s polls.

BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the coalition was holding talks with PN’s core parties following the suspension of activities by the Opposition coalition, but made clear that BN had no intention of giving up the seats it currently holds.

“Our principle is that the 21 seats we won are not seats that we intend to share,” he told reporters in Beijing today, according to The Star.