Amid betrayals, Muhyiddin stays calm in Johor snap polls

MALAYSIA: A tug-of-war is underway within the Perikatan Nasional (PN) opposition alliance, with the Islamists now openly urging voters to back Barisan Nasional (BN) and United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) candidates in Johor.

Meanwhile, opposing any allegiance to BN-UMNO or other political alliances, former Prime Minister Muhyiddin. Yassin urges supporters to feel free to vote for who they want in seats where his party did not field any candidates.

The attrition started after Pas decided not to back any Bersatu, the party of Muhyiddin, candidates in the Johor elections, leaving a sense of betrayal of the PN component party by the Pas leadership.

While Muhyiddin took the shock in good spirits, he made it clear that it is not his party to blame if a ‘friend’ in the same alliance did not back his candidates in the hotly contested Johor elections.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has indeed called on Johor voters to reject Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH), including in constituencies where the contest is a straight fight between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan.

He said this was among several resolutions agreed upon by the party during a special central committee meeting on the Johor election last week.

In a statement, he said the other resolutions were for PAS to defend what it described as the “Malay-Muslim political power” in Johor, to mobilise its machinery in the 11 seats it is contesting and to reach as many voters as possible under the slogan “Let’s protect Johor”.

PAS has made it clear that it is not sending its troops to help Muhyiddin’s party in the 16 seats it is contesting.

The statement from Pas backing BN-UMNO is clearly an attempt to put Bersatu in a difficult position. While not helping Bersatu at all, PAS is virtually backing a win for BN, an alliance that is opposed to PAS and Bersatu and that is a component of the Unity Government headed by Anwar.

Earlier this month, PAS announced it had ended its political cooperation with Bersatu, although both parties remain component members of PN.

PAS has since then accepted the inclusion of a new party in the alliance, a party that is opposed to Muhyiddin, who, for now, has remained calm, pushing forward with his party contesting in Johor, with or without PN’s grassroots support.

He also urged his voters – those of his party indeed – to feel free to decide who to back in seats where Bersatu or PN candidates are not contesting.

“If Perikatan is contesting, support Perikatan. We are not going to support other parties contesting against us,” he told reporters at Kampung Jayor here.

Muhyiddin said Bersatu would not issue instructions that could confuse its supporters.

“If the party contesting is not our party, then as a matter of principle, we will not support,” he said during a walkabout in some locations where his party’s candidate is contesting.