KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed claims that his relationship with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has deteriorated over Barisan Nasional’s (BN) decision to contest against Pakatan Harapan in recent state elections.
Anwar said the claim by Khairy Jamaluddin that trust between the two leaders had reached its lowest point, was merely the former Umno Youth chief’s personal assessment.
“That is his personal view. He always looks at things from the perspective of conflict. I look at things from the perspective of peace… and that is the difference. He takes the confrontational path, while I take the peaceful path,” he told reporters today.
Anwar, who is also PKR president, had earlier delivered his presidential address at the 2026 PKR National Congress at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) here today.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said his speech had acknowledged Zahid’s contribution towards the formation of a coalition government following the 15th General Election (GE15) in November 2022.
“That is why I thanked Zahid and UMNO in my speech earlier for their role, as BN chairman, in establishing the unity government at the initial stage,” he said.
Khairy yesterday claimed that trust between Anwar and Zahid, who is Umno president, was now at its lowest level since the unity government was formed in 2022.
In the latest episode of his Keluar Sekajap Podcast, Khairy attributed the alleged deterioration to increasingly difficult relations between BN and PH, particularly following BN’s decision to cooperate with Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the Negeri Sembilan state election. BN had also contested against PH in the Johor state election.
“PH will say it was a betrayal. BN will say that, well, we just agreed to work with you at the federal level. It doesn’t mean we are tied with you forever. Whichever way you want to look at it, there was a massive rupture,” Khairy had said.
Anwar, however, today said differences of opinion were normal within political parties and among parties in a coalition government.
He said such differences could be addressed through discussions and a peaceful approach, rather than confrontation. – August 15, 2026