Muhyiddin: I feel shame being associated with party that has a convict boss

 

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin sees a silver lining despite his party's deteriorating relationship with Umno.

"There is a blessing when Bersatu does not work with Umno as Bersatu won't become entangled in the moral problems plaguing Umno leaders.

"Personally, I'd be ashamed to be associated with a party that embraces someone who has been convicted by the courts of a serious crime as a boss," he said in a statement.

He said this in response to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak who has launched salvoes against Bersatu as Umno makes its move to gain dominance.

Umno had on Jan 22 moved to dissolve the BN-Perikatan Nasional government in Johor without consulting Bersatu or PAS which are part of PN, in an apparent bid to oust them from the state government so BN can govern alone.

Najib, who has been convicted of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, justified Umno's move by accusing Bersatu of behaving treacherously first during the Sabah polls in 2020.

However, Muhyiddin said Bersatu had never contested against Umno in any seats during the Sabah polls.

Instead, he said any conflict was either between BN and PBS or BN and other PN partners.

Muhyiddin said when he was prime minister at the time, he had tried to ensure that there won't be any clashes between BN, PN and PBS through the formation of a negotiation committee.

"I was informed that at the early stage of the committee, the number of seats that will be contested by the BN and PN parties and PBS had been decided.

"But BN later increased the number of seats it wanted to contest which led to clashes with PN in a number of seats," he said.

Muhyiddin said he tried to salvage the situation by flying to Kota Kinabalu for last-minute negotiations on the eve of nomination day but could not break the deadlock.

"At that moment, Bersatu was the only party that did not put any candidates against its partners... while PAS did the honourable thing by not contesting in any seats.

"So I do not understand Najib's accusation that Bersatu betrayed Umno in the Sabah polls by fielding candidates against Umno which led to the failure of Muafakat Nasional.

Muafakat was an electoral pact between Umno and PAS with efforts to later include Bersatu but the alliance crumbled as Umno's ties with PAS and Bersatu became increasingly strained.

Muhyiddin said he has forgotten about Muafakat and there was no need to mention it any further.

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak

'I did not betray anyone'

He also refuted accusations that Bersatu, through PN, grabbed the Sabah chief minister position from BN which is led by Umno.

"I had asked Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to name the chief minister candidate from Umno but he did not name anyone until the end of the Sabah polls campaign.

"That was why I named Hajiji Noor from PN in the event PN wins the most number of seats in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition.

GRS comprises BN, PN and PBS. BN is made up of Umno, MCA, MIC and PBRS while PN is made up of Bersatu, PAS, Star, SAPP and Gerakan. PBS is a Sabah-based party.

He said in the end, PN won 17 seats, BN 14 while PBS received seven, making PN the largest coalition.

"Therefore, PN nominated Hajiji as the Sabah chief minister and this was agreed by the GRS state assemblypersons including those from Umno.

"Did I betray anyone? I did not betray. I told Umno to name their candidates. If Umno did not have a candidate, I have my candidate to nominate. I was transparent with Umno.

"Najib should not twist facts. What happened in Sabah was not the reason Muafakat failed," he said, adding that Najib should reflect on himself instead of playing politics.

"You have been convicted by the courts of a serious crime. You should feel shame," he said.

Muhyiddin said the concept of shame is part of the Muslim faith.

"Unfortunately, in Umno, someone who has been convicted of a crime and was described by the courts as a 'national embarrassment’ is embraced with the slogan 'malu apa bossku' (what is there to be ashamed, bossku).

"Where is one's faith? Where is one's dignity?" he asked. - Mkini