Muhyiddin: Brace for Pakatan’s ‘psycho’ attacks in GE13

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — Umno members must brace themselves and be more aggressive to counter the opposition’s psychological attacks if they want to ensure the party and the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) remain in power at the next general election, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin warned in an interview published today in Utusan Malaysia.

The ruling coalition’s No. 2 told Umno delegates, who will be attending the party’s annual general assembly next week here, not to rest on their laurels but raise the ante because the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition pact has stepped up its game in its quest to wrest Putrajaya at the 13th general election (GE13) due soon when the BN’s mandate expires next April.

“They want to psycho the rakyat’s thinking, they are ready to take over and topple the government. As an Umno leader, we cannot just listen and be silent,” Muhyiddin(picture) told the Umno-owned daily.

“We know Anwar Ibrahim is campaigning. He takes the plane. DAP takes the bus, goes from corner to corner one by one. They have arranged their strategies, we know,” he pointed out, referring to the PKR de facto leader and its political partner in the three-party alliance set up four years ago after Election 2008 to counter the BN machinery.

Muhyiddin, who is also deputy prime minister, said the federal opposition has become “power mad” in its bid to take control of Putrajaya, alleging that it has permitted things that are considered “haram”, or forbidden by Islam, but did not specify the acts.

He said the PR will use all kinds of tactics, such as swearing oaths and making all sorts of allegations against the Election Commission (EC), notably claiming that the voter roll is “not right”, in its attempt to “condition the people’s mind that if BN wins, it’s through fraud”.

The opposition parties have taken part in two controversial public rallies in the capital city over the last two years, backing the independent electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 in pushing for the voter roll to be cleaned up of dubious entries ahead of the next national polls.

Yesterday, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim highlighted the PR state government’s doubt over a 28 per cent spike in registered voters in PR-controlled areas, which he claimed could not be traced by the state’s audit.

Khalid, who is from PKR, said he would be writing in to the EC for an explanation soon.

“This is a war from a strategy aspect and others,” Muhyiddin told Utusan in a message to Umno delegates ahead of the party’s assembly, which begins next Tuesday.

The powerful Umno politician hoped his message will reach Umno members and fire them up so they will not relax their guard until the elections are over.

“There is not time to rest, we must rise all the time until our task is complete after the elections,” he said.