Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin has dismissed claims by Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin that the party is merely ‘meddling’ in the Negeri Sembilan state election, insisting Bersatu is contesting to win and should not be underestimated.
Speaking after a ceramah in the Sikamat state constituency, Muhyiddin said every political party enters an election with the intention of securing victory.
He described Khaled as an experienced politician but said the remark was disappointing.
‘We are not contesting the state election just for the sake of it. We want to win. Do not underestimate us,’ he said.
No decision yet on menteri besar candidate
Muhyiddin said Bersatu has yet to decide on its candidate for the Negeri Sembilan menteri besar post, adding that the matter would only be addressed if the party receives sufficient support to form the state government.
He said there was no need to make an announcement at this stage, stressing that the decision would depend on the election outcome.
Muhyiddin also said Bersatu would soon unveil its manifesto, focusing on issues including the economy, infrastructure, public healthcare and education.
Bersatu says it was left out of PN’s decision
Bersatu is contesting the Negeri Sembilan election under its own logo amid tensions with PAS and the electoral cooperation between Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN).
The party is fielding 24 candidates in the Aug 1 election, resulting in contests against two PN component parties, PAS and Parti Wawasan Negara, in eight seats.
BN and PN have an electoral understanding under which BN is contesting 25 seats and PN 11 seats without overlapping contests, while Pakatan Harapan is contesting all 36 seats.
Muhyiddin said Bersatu was neither informed of nor involved in PN’s decision to direct its members and supporters to back BN candidates in seats not contested by the coalition in Negeri Sembilan.
Although Bersatu remains a PN component party, he said it appeared to have been excluded from the coalition’s decision-making process.
‘We were simply left out. This was a decision they made,’ he said.
Muhyiddin added that he did not know who within PN had made the decision, describing the situation as unusual while declining to interfere.
