Bersatu must survive as lone opposition, says Muhyiddin

 The Bersatu president says there is no longer a credible party to provide checks and balances against the government.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin says the party remains committed to its founding struggle against kleptocracy despite growing political challenges.

PETALING JAYA:

Bersatu must survive after finding itself alone in the opposition and facing greater challenges than when the party was first formed, its president, Muhyiddin Yassin, said today.

Muhyiddin claimed Bersatu was now the country’s only credible opposition party, arguing that Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional were both in power at the federal level and in several states, while Perikatan Nasional’s arrangement with BN meant it “indirectly” supported the government too.

“Can Bersatu survive the challenges and opposition from government and pro-government parties? For me, the issue isn’t whether it can survive – it must survive,” he said in a Facebook post.

“Because there is now a huge vacuum in Malaysian politics. There is no longer a truly credible party to check and balance government policies, or to carry the people’s voice as living conditions grow harder.”

Muhyiddin said PH and BN could not escape collective responsibility for policies that he claimed had burdened Malaysians, citing higher diesel and petrol prices as well as persistent cost of living pressures.

He also accused Umno and BN of deflecting blame while in government and using calls for “ummah unity” and “Malay unity” to win over Malay voters.

“Believe me, this is just a charade to deceive the eyes of the Malays and the people in order to gain power,” he said, adding that Bersatu was “free of all this charade” and remained committed to its founding struggle against “kleptocracy” linked to the 1MDB scandal.

In the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan state election, BN and the PAS-led PN have reached an electoral understanding under which BN will contest 25 seats and PN 11.

Bersatu, however, has broken away from the coalition and is contesting 24 seats under its own logo.

PAS has severed political ties with Bersatu, but both parties have chosen to remain in PN. - FMT