MELAKA – While Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) scramble to announce their manifestos and chief minister candidates, Perikatan Nasional (PN) appears unfazed and is taking their time to make any announcement.
Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan said the coalition is only expected to name its chief minister candidate after the conclusion of the state election.
Its manifesto will only be revealed within a few days’ time.
Speaking at a press conference, Wan Saiful said PN’s focus at the moment is to capture Melaka and considers the naming of its candidate for the state’s administrative top post as secondary.
“We will leave the announcement to the party’s top leadership. I don’t think it is suitable to announce it now,” he said today.
“Actually, discussions have been held and we have an idea who we want to field. In any case, we (PN) will have a huge event attended by the top leaders tonight. Maybe they will have an interesting announcement to make.”
Top leaders of PN’s component parties, including former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin are expected to attend an event in Shah Alam tonight in relation to the Melaka election.
When asked if Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin will be PN’s top choice for the chief minister position, seeing that she is tasked in taking on one of the most challenging seats, Wan Saiful maintained that it is best to wait for the announcement to be made after the polls.
“We will see who wins and is part of the state assembly. We will ensure the best candidate is chosen. I don’t want to comment further, afraid it will turn into another issue,” he said.
Mas Ermieyati will take on Umno strongman and party state liaison chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh in Tg Bidara, considered Umno’s fortress.
In separate events yesterday, both BN and PH announced their respective manifestos to capture the hearts and minds of voters in the state.
With just slightly over a week left before the polls, the two coalitions have also announced their respective chief minister candidates, both of whom are the two immediate former Melaka chief ministers, Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali of BN and PH’s Adly Zahari.
Asked if PN will cooperate with another coalition if no one party has the majority to rule Melaka, Wan Saiful said the priority is to ensure it wins enough seats to form a government in order to avoid political instability.
“If we look at the previous administration, where the majority is slim and there is no stability, this is what triggered the election today.
“I hope the rakyat takes note of what happened before this and takes PN as its choice to form a strong, stable government. If we say this doesn’t happen, then we will only look into it after the election.
On whether PN will be able to win the election, considering its lynchpin Bersatu only won two seats in 2018, Wan Saiful expressed confidence that its chance of securing the state is bright.
To achieve this, he said PN will showcase itself as a united coalition that is able to offer political stability and putting the people’s interest at the forefront of its administration. – The Vibes, November 11, 2021
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