You will struggle without BN, Najib warns defectors

 

Najib Razak says he believes that many PAS supporters are not happy that the Muafakat Nasional pact had failed with Umno and PAS going separate ways.

PETALING JAYA: Former Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders who jumped ship will find it hard to win seats during election season, says Najib Razak.

Taking aim at those from BN and Umno’s inner circle who had left, the former prime minister and Umno president said such leaders only rose to prominence because they had the party’s blessings.

“When they don’t have a big and strong party like BN behind them, we can see that they aren’t so strong after all. Not like when they were in Umno,” he said during an online discussion broadcast on Umno’s Facebook page.

“Like when some jumped from BN. Actually, they now have doubts as to whether they can defend their positions or not.

“When they face a state election or by-election, or even a general election … maybe then they will realise that one very important factor in them winning (their previous) seats was the party’s strength and support.”

While Najib did not name anyone, the targets were quite obvious. The online discussion was held to drum up support for BN and Umno ahead of next Saturday’s Melaka election – which was triggered when four assemblymen, including two from Umno, pulled their support for the Umno-led state government.

The Umno members – former Melaka chief minister Idris Haron (Sungai Udang) and Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor) – were immediately sacked and they have since joined PKR and Amanah respectively.

Idris will be contesting in the Asahan seat in the Melaka polls while Nor Azman will be defending his Pantai Kundor seat.

Touching on BN’s decision to contest on its own at the election, Najib said the coalition had “no choice” after PAS chose to field candidates under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner, which is led by Umno splinter party Bersatu.

PAS’ decision also called into question the future of Muafakat Nasional (MN), the alliance Umno and PAS formed in September 2019, with the aim of uniting the Malay-Muslim vote.

“Going solo was not our choice. We were ready to work with PAS under MN. We hoped Melaka would be the template for future elections, but we had no choice,” he said.

However, he said he believed that many PAS supporters were not happy that MN had failed. “I dare say this decision does not reflect the true wishes of all PAS members,” said Najb. - FMT