Don’t blame Bersatu for PN’s Johor wipeout, says state party chief

 Dr Sahruddin Jamal says component parties of PN shared responsibility for the campaign, while associate wing chief R Sri Sanjeevan says Bersatu had been sabotaged and sidelined during the campaign.

Bersatu fielded 16 candidates in the Johor election under the PN banner, while 11 from PAS, five from MIPP and one from Pejuang also contested. All were defeated.

PETALING JAYA:

Two Bersatu leaders say it is inaccurate to blame the party for Perikatan Nasional’s wipeout in the Johor state election.

Johor Bersatu chief Dr Sahruddin Jamal said PN component parties worked as a team, with every party sharing responsibility for the outcome of any election.

“PN has won many seats in the past five years, while it was led by Muhyiddin Yassin and Bersatu,” he told FMT in response to a claim by Johor Parti Wawasan Negara chief Zulkifli Bujang that PN’s declining support was closely linked to the prolonged internal turmoil in Bersatu.

Zulkifli’s claim was also disputed by the head of Bersatu’s associate wing, R Sri Sanjeevan, who accused Wawasan leaders of being vengeful and seeking Bersatu’s collapse.

Wawasan was formed last month by former Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin and his supporters four months after he was expelled from Bersatu in a power struggle with Muhyiddin.

Sanjeevan said Bersatu had not only been sabotaged, but sidelined from PN programmes throughout the Johor election campaign.

Drawing a comparison with the Sabah state election last year, Sanjeevan said Muhyiddin had been made the scapegoat for the coalition’s losses, even though the election machinery at the time was managed by other leaders such as Hamzah and Ronald Kiandee.

Sanjeevan also called for PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar to resign immediately over the coalition’s failure in Johor.

He said that although Samsuri, who is also PAS vice-president, had been touted as a figure with high political appeal, PAS’s failure to win even a single seat proved that its leadership’s strategy had backfired.

“It is best for Samsuri to resign immediately,” he said.

PN fielded 33 candidates in the Johor polls: 16 from Bersatu, 11 from PAS, five from MIPP and one from Pejuang. All were defeated, with 21 of them losing their deposits. - FMT