KUCHING, Nov 15: Barisan Nasional (BN) will not contest the Sarawak Election 2026.

In a Harian Metro report, the coalition’s chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) has an understanding with Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), which leads the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition in Sarawak.

“BN has no intention of contesting any State assembly seats in Sarawak because this is the understanding Umno and PBB have. Umno and BN have no intention of fielding candidates in the Sarawak election,” he said to reporters after attending the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) Deepavali open house in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, today.

PBB, along with the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), were BN component parties but left the coalition after it lost the 2018 general election. The four parties then formed the GPS coalition.