DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang today pressed PN over its delay to announce a chief ministerial candidate, questioning if the coalition was mulling on picking Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin but was facing internal resistance.
Mas Ermieyati, who is a deputy minister, is contesting in Tanjung Bidara against Malacca Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh, setting the table for a clash of giants. Pakatan Harapan's candidate Zainal Hassan is relatively less well-known.
"Muhyiddin has a time-bomb in Malacca - his inability to announce Mas Emieyati Samsuddin as the Bersatu’s nominee for the post of Malacca chief minister because of strong objections inside the party.
"Can (PN chairperson) Muhyiddin Yassin neutralise this time-bomb in Malacca?" Lim said in a statement.
Yesterday, Muhyiddin, who is also the Bersatu president, revealed that PN had decided on a name for its chief ministerial candidate.
However, unlike rival coalitions BN and Pakatan Harapan, Muhyiddin said PN only plans to announce its chief ministerial candidate later, just before polling day on Nov 20.
Another chief ministerial candidate frontrunner is Malacca Bersatu chief Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen.
BN had announced incumbent chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali as its choice, while Harapan picked Adly Zahari who served as chief minister from 2018 to 2020.
After a slow start to PN's campaign, Muhyiddin has gone to the ground to energise the coalition's machinery and positioned his coalition as the "cleaner choice", touting an anti-corruption platform.
This included overseeing the signing of an anti-corruption pledge by all 28 PN election candidates in Malacca last night.
‘Failed’ legacy
Lim, however, disputed PN's commitment to good governance.
"Muhyiddin is right that Umno victory signifies a creeping return to kleptocracy but Muhyiddin’s tenure as prime minister had seen corruption increased by leaps and bounds," the Iskandar Puteri MP said.
With most of PN's candidates being new faces, PN has also tried to leverage on Muhyiddin's image, putting up banners of the ex-prime minister even though he is not contesting in the Malacca polls.
However, Lim maintained that Muhyiddin's legacy is only of conspiracy, the Covid-19 pandemic failure and his attempt to cling on to power.
He noted that Muhyiddin was involved in the Sheraton Move which saw Bersatu bringing down the Harapan government from within and his Covid-19 policies saw the virus spreading across the nation, claiming more than 29,000 lives.
Amid this, Lim added that Muhyiddin tried to cling on to power with a declaration of emergency.
Muhyiddin was ousted in August and replaced with Umno's Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister. - Mkini
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