TG BIDARA – Umno’s stubborn decision to contest alone in the Melaka elections has courted the ire of its ally PAS’ supporters.
According to a grassroots leader from the Islamist party, Muhammad Tarmizi Abd Malik, PAS supporters were ready to accept Umno’s line-up following the Muafakat Nasional (MN) agreement penned by both parties.
In a report by The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal Getaran, he said it is very sad that Umno has openly refused the opportunity to share power with PAS and Bersatu when all three parties are centred on Malays and Islam.
“When they fell in the last general election (GE14), PAS extended a helping hand to form MN, Bersatu came later and pulled us (PAS and Umno) out of the opposition bloc to form a government.
“But Umno is back to its old tricks after holding power. Its actions have opened old wounds for us who support PAS,” Tarmizi reportedly said.
He was approached by Getaran at Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Pasir Gembur headquarters in Tg Bidara today while he was preparing for the Melaka elections, which begin tomorrow.
Furthermore, he added that the words of PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang requesting party supporters to back PN candidates is the right decision because it will teach Umno an important lesson in friendship if it falls once more in Melaka.
He then accused Umno state liaison chief and Tg Bidara candidate Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh of not being a people’s leader who cares about the issues facing the community.
“Therefore, PAS voters here are determined to follow the party leadership’s instructions to back PN’s candidate who is (Datuk) Mas Ermieyati (Samsudin),” he reportedly said.
N02 Tg Bidara will be witnessing the clash of two political giants, with Umno fielding Rauf, who is also the former state speaker, while PN deploys Mas Ermieyati, who is deputy law minister as a challenger.
However, the seat will see a three-cornered fight seeing that PH has also placed its candidate Zainal Hassan to take part in the kerfuffle. – Getaran, November 7, 2021
Additional reporting by Zaidi Azmi and Fitri Nizam
