Muhyiddin set on PN for GE15 regardless of 'thorns' in his path

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is set on strengthening and uniting the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition in order to face the 15th general election (GE15), regardless of the “thorns” and challenges that lie ahead.

“I want to let you know, the direction of our party in the future is to strengthen the relationship between the parties in PN, BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

“This is our future and this is the path we have chosen. The road might be rocky, there might be thorns here and there. It is difficult and it will challenge our patience but believe in Allah’s promise as said in the Quran… that every hardship comes with a boon,” said the Bersatu president.

He was giving his address at the third Bersatu annual general meeting (AGM) today which was done via video conferencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Delegates gathered at specific locations in their respective states to join the video conference.

Muhyiddin said there is no need for Budget 2021 to be rejected just to pave way for GE15, as he also wanted to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament.

“But we all know the problem is Covid-19. InsyaAllah, when the Covid-19 pandemic is over, we will hold the general election.

“We will return the mandate to the rakyat and let the rakyat make the decision on which government they want,” he said.

The prime minister also announced that Bersatu has decided to use the PN logo in the next general election, as their victory in the Sabah state election had shown that the rakyat has accepted PN.

Muhyiddin said in his speech that he is aware there might be some bad blood between Bersatu and Umno due to their history, but fate had brought the two parties to work together.

Though it is a "difficult and challenging situation", he said he met with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi a few days ago and in their discussion, they agreed that the relationship between the two parties must be fixed.

“Another thing we agreed on is to strengthen the relationship between Bersatu, Umno and PAS.

“These three parties must strengthen and stabilise each other. We cannot fracture, we cannot clash and we cannot choose different paths,” he said.

He stressed that there cannot be any multi-cornered clashes among the parties in the PN government in GE15.

Muhyiddin also suggested the formation of a presidential council consisting of party leaders within the PN government - PN, BN, GPS and GRS.

“These regular meetings can be held to discuss issues related to economic, education and social policies, among others.

“This is important because not every party leader is in the cabinet. Through these meetings, every party leader can express their party’s opinions about the government’s policies so that the cabinet can take note of it when making decisions,” he said. - Mkini