KUALA LUMPUR – The Selangor election will be taken as a “referendum” on Perikatan Nasional (PN) and a sign as to whether the opposition coalition can win power in the five other states facing polls soon, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said tonight.
He said Pakatan Harapan (PH)-ruled Selangor must give PN a chance, as the PH-led federal government had “achieved nothing” for the country since taking over Putrajaya more than seven months ago.
“There is no clear direction. So Selangor must give us a chance, because if we win Selangor, it will be a good sign that PN can win in all six states,” the PN chief said in his speech at the Selangor PN Election Convention held in Shah Alam today.
“We want to use this as a referendum, starting with Selangor. If the people here give us solid support, the other states we can ‘sapu bersih’ (sweep the contested seats),” the former prime minister added.
Selangor dissolved its assembly yesterday. Other states due for elections are the PH-controlled states of Penang and Negri Sembilan, and the PN states of Kedah, Terengganu, and Kelantan.
The polls for the six states are likely to be held simultaneously and the Election Commission is to fix the dates after they have all dissolved their assemblies.
“Our observations since the 15th general election show signs that people want more than a wave, they want PN to be in power at the federal level. What more in the coming six state elections,” said Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president.
He also reminded his PN audience how close the coalition was to federal power after last year’s general election, winning 74 parliamentary seats which made it the bloc with the largest number of seats.
Muhyiddin in his speech also said it was a “matter of time” before the unity government where PH and Barisan Nasional are partners will collapse.
He took a swipe at the federal government’s “unity”, questioning if it was real following remarks by DAP’s Tony Pua at a fundraising event last night where he called BN corrupt.
Pua’s remarks led DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke to say that they were made in the former’s personal capacity, but also to warn party members to be mindful when speaking about the unity government on a DAP platform.
Meanwhile, Bersatu’s Datuk Seri Azmin Ali was reported by Free Malaysia Today saying after the convention that he had not ruled out contesting in the Selangor polls.
The state’s former menteri besar said he was waiting for the party’s instructions and would obey its directive.
Azmin in February said he was taking a break from active politics after losing his Gombak parliamentary seat in last year’s general election. – The Vibes, June 24, 2023
