PETALING JAYA: Muhyiddin Yassin has slammed Perikatan Nasional (PN) information chief Annuar Musa for suggesting that Bersatu “voluntarily chose to part ways” with the coalition, saying the party remains a legitimate component member of PN.
In a Facebook post, the Bersatu president claimed his party had been sidelined by the very coalition of which it was a founding member.
He also claimed that seat negotiations between Bersatu and PN’s other component parties for the Negeri Sembilan election were deliberately discontinued “on unreasonable grounds”.
Muhyiddin said Bersatu was not invited to attend the special PN Supreme Council meeting that finalised the allocation of seats among the coalition’s component parties.
Yesterday, Annuar said Bersatu’s decision to contest using its own logo meant the party had “voluntarily chosen to part ways” with PN for the Negeri Sembilan election. He said the move came as no surprise as PN leaders had been informed since last month of Bersatu’s plans to establish another political platform.
Muhyiddin announced on Wednesday that his party would contest the Negeri Sembilan polls under its own logo. However, he said no decision had been made on whether Bersatu would leave PN.
He also criticised PAS for holding discussions with BN on an electoral pact without consulting other PN component parties or obtaining approval from the coalition’s Supreme Council.
PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar however dismissed Muhyiddin’s claims that PAS had acted unilaterally in holding talks with BN, saying he had given the green light and that the matters discussed were subsequently finalised and approved at yesterday’s Supreme Council meeting.
‘Backwards way of doing things’
Muhyiddin, responding today, said he did not question the negotiations themselves but argued that they involved a policy matter that should have been brought before the PN Supreme Council.
“Instead, the negotiations were conducted without involving all component parties and without a mandate from the Supreme Council. Only after a decision on the cooperation had been made was it brought before the council.
“That is a backwards way of doing things,” Muhyiddin said.
The former prime minister said that Umno MPs had once conspired to bring down the Perikatan Nasional federal government and were now doing the same to the unity government they had formed with Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“Because the PAS-led PN wants to form an alliance with Umno, which still maintains ties with PH, including DAP, PAS severed ties with Bersatu, and the Malay party that I lead was sidelined by PN,” he said.
He said PN’s move to seek cooperation with BN had nothing to do with Malay unity but was “a mere realignment of political power”.
“I wish PN every success, but Bersatu will not look back. The party will continue to stand firm and move forward, carrying the struggle for Malaysia and all its people,” Muhyiddin said.
