PETALING JAYA: PAS paid a heavy price to kill off Bersatu in the Johor state election, says former Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi.
He said PAS’s biggest achievement in the state polls was denying Bersatu any representative in the Johor assembly, having decided not to help its Perikatan Nasional partner during the election campaign.
However, he pointed out that PAS was also wiped out, with the Islamic party losing the only seat it previously won, Maharani, to Umno.
Puad urged the incoming Johor government not to give PAS any of the five appointed assemblymen’s posts, warning against making the party an ally in any way.
“PAS paid a costly price in the Johor polls. They practised strange politics, being willing to kill off its own coalition partner.
“Now PAS has proven itself to be a party that should not be made an ally. That is why PAS should not be given any appointed assemblyman’s post,” he said in a Facebook post.
PAS had urged its members and supporters to vote for Barisan Nasional in seats not contested by PN.
While several leaders denied claims of a secret pact between the Islamic party and Umno, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said on Friday that the two parties have mended their ties to consolidate the Malay-Muslim vote.
However, Puad dismissed suggestions that PAS supporters had contributed significantly to BN’s landslide victory in Johor.
He pointed to the small vote share secured by PAS candidates in Tiram, Tenang, Kahang, Jementah and Simpang Jeram as evidence that the party’s supporters had little influence on the coalition’s victory.
“BN’s victory was clearly due to a very strong blue wave, alongside Chinese voters returning to support BN,” the former Rengit assemblyman said.
Puad, a former Johor deputy speaker, resigned from Umno last month after claiming Johor BN lacked autonomy. He did not defend his Rengit seat in yesterday’s state election.
BN won 48 of the 56 Johor assembly seats yesterday, while Pakatan Harapan took the remaining eight. PN was wiped out after losing all 33 seats it contested, including the three it won in the 2022 state election.
