PETALING JAYA: An Umno leader has challenged PAS to state its stand on Muhyiddin Yassin’s declaration that Perikatan Nasional (PN) will contest all 28 seats in the upcoming Melaka polls.
Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi warned that if PAS was in favour of the move, it would send a clear signal that the Islamist party was opposed to Umno regaining its past dominance.
PAS is a component party in PN led by Muhyiddin and has partnered Umno in Muafakat Nasional. The party has previously vowed to work with both PN as well as Umno and BN in the state elections.
“The question is, what is the stand of PAS now? If it chooses to be with Bersatu, it can be construed rightly or wrongly as not wanting Umno to be dominant again.
“Bersatu will definitely be relying heavily on the PAS machinery, which has been long established in Melaka,” he said in a statement today.
Yesterday, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the coalition will contest all 28 seats, with possible head-on clashes between PN and BN.
Muhyiddin’s statement came after Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his party would not work with PN in the state polls.
Puad accused PN of being “greedy” and wanting to split the votes, adding that Bersatu was only able to win two state seats in GE14 and that too with the support of PKR and DAP.
He said Muhyiddin’s declaration to field candidates in all the seats was out of touch with reality, and challenged the former prime minister to reveal Bersatu’s actual support among voters in Melaka.
A “teh tarik meet-up” of top PAS and Umno leaders earlier this month sparked speculation that the two parties would cooperate in the Nov 20 state elections.
However, several leaders from both parties dismissed it as nothing more than a social get-together between them.
FMT
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