Bersatu man believes Muhyiddin can remain as PM after GE15

Bersatu supreme council member Muhammad Faiz Na'aman believes his party president Muhyiddin Yassin could remain as prime minister even after the 15th General Election.

This is amid his opponents painting a picture of doom and gloom that Umno and PAS, under the Muafakat Nasional pact, will jettison Bersatu in the next general election even though they are now under the same Perikatan Nasional government.

"Yes. Because that is the basis of PN's formation and the content of our consensus to face the general election," he told Malaysiakini when asked if he was confident Muhyiddin can stay on as prime minister if the PN parties win in the next general election.

Yesterday, Bersatu rebel Maszlee Malik, who is also the Simpang Renggam member of Parliament, said the current arrangement would ultimately see Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or his immediate predecessor Najib Abdul Razak becoming prime minister after the next general election.

Both Najib and Zahid are facing charges of corruption.

Maszlee noted several Umno leaders have said that PN is nothing more than an arrangement to replace the Pakatan Harapan government in the current term and would serve no purpose beyond that.

"Umno is the dominant party and surely the prime ministerial candidate (for the 15th General Election) will no longer be Muhyiddin.

"The candidate will surely be Najib or Zahid," he had said.

However, Muhammad Faiz dismissed Maszlee's view as "baseless speculation".

"Maszlee is no longer a Bersatu member, therefore his statement is baseless speculation.

"Bersatu is now part of PN so is PAS and Umno. We are all behind Muhyiddin to face the general election," Muhammad Faiz said.

Maszlee (photo, below) is aligned to former prime minister and Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is waging a battle against Muhyiddin for control of Bersatu and the government.

Also aligned with him are Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun), Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar) and Amiruddin Hamzah (Kubang Pasu).

Bersatu, who is presently controlled by Muhyiddin, have declared their party memberships void for siding with the opposition, a move the rebels do not recognise.

'Ask the Umno president'

Following the dire picture for Bersatu painted by Maszlee, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan offered a glimmer of hope by stating that PAS was confident that PN could work something out for the next general election.

"PAS is confident that the parties that formed PN are ready to combine their strength and machinery in preparation for the 15th General Election, including to finalise the distribution of seats, even though the date has yet to be decided," he said.

However, this was later downplayed by Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin who said the PAS confidence is nothing more than that as there was the issue of committing to PN in the next general election had not been discussed.

Umno supreme council leader Mohd Puad Zarkashi, who is among the opponents of going into the next general election with Bersatu, said the onus on seat distribution now lies with Umno's top leadership.

"This you will have to ask the Umno president or deputy president," he said.

The Harapan government collapsed in late February after Muhyiddin pulled his party out of the coalition government.

Muhyiddin was sworn in as the new prime minister on March 1, after he put together a new coalition comprising Bersatu, PKR defectors, BN, PAS, GPS, PBS and Star.

Muhyiddin is now working to ensure that the coalition is more than a Harapan replacement for this term and can function as a political unit in the next general election.

Bersatu's survival is incumbent on the success of PN as the alternative would see Umno and PAS joining forces under Muafakat Nasional, cutting out Bersatu, which is a relatively new party. - Mkini