Political analyst Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said overlapping claims over many constituencies would make it difficult for the two parties to cooperate during GE16.

“There is far greater seat overlap between Umno and Bersatu than between Umno and Pakatan Harapan (PH), making cooperation with PH easier during GE16,” he said.

“A final decision, if any, will be made after the election, depending on how many seats Umno secures,” Azmi told FMT.

He was responding to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s comments on Tuesday about how the party should not rule out the possibility of cooperating with Bersatu in the future.

When asked about Umno’s readiness to cooperate with Bersatu, which is considered a splinter party of Umno, Zahid said that any decision would depend on the latest developments involving Bersatu.

Hisomuddin Bakar of Ilham Centre shared a similar view with Azmi, stating that Zahid’s remarks should be seen more as “strategic signalling” rather than a serious move toward cooperation with Bersatu.

Hisomuddin said Umno is prioritising post-GE16 bargaining power rather than fixing a clear pre-election position, enabling the party to negotiate based on election results.

“Based on Barisan Nasional’s current seat base, working with PH is relatively manageable, requiring only limited negotiations with PKR and Amanah in some Malay-majority and mixed constituencies.

“In the last general election, both BN and Bersatu won around 30 seats each in largely Malay areas, showing that Bersatu has already taken over many former Umno strongholds and weakened Umno’s traditional dominance,” he added.

He said staying with the unity government and working with PH still looks like a more practical option for Umno as there is less overlap in voter base, and BN can gain added value from non-Malay votes.

The only challenge, he said, is for DAP and Anwar Ibrahim to win the support of Malay voters, as “resistance at the BN grassroots level is still quite clear”.