Stop lying about Sabah CM candidacy issue, Najib tells Muhyiddin

 

Najib Razak says there is irrefutable proof in an audio clip that Muhyiddin Yassin wanted to bribe Umno MPs to join Bersatu. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Najib Razak wasted no time in responding to a statement from Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin earlier this evening, refuting a number of claims made by the latter.

Taking to Facebook, the Pekan MP rebuked his former number two for lying that he waited until the end of the Sabah state elections campaign period before naming Bersatu’s Hajiji Noor as the candidate for chief minister.

In his statement, Muhyiddin claimed that he spoke to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to name a candidate from Umno.

“However, Zahid did not name anyone until the end of the campaign period for the Sabah polls.

“That is why I named Hajiji as the candidate from Perikatan Nasional (PN) if the coalition won the largest number of seats among the parties that form Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS),” the PN chairman said.

Najib said the facts state otherwise.

“The internet never forgets. He (Muhyiddin) announced that Hajiji would become the next chief minister on Sept 12, 2020, which was the nomination day. It also marked the beginning of the campaign period.

“So how can you say that you waited until the campaign period ended when you had already named Hajiji as the next chief minister?

“He (Muhyiddin) had planned this much earlier, not until the campaign period ended like what he claims,” the former prime minister said.

Commenting on the seats won by Bersatu, Najib said that the seats were Umno’s traditional seats.

“Umno was asked to give those seats to Bersatu. The party was also asked to campaign for Bersatu candidates.

“Umno won 14 seats, Bersatu won 11. But Bersatu (Hajiji Noor) got the chief minister’s post. So, stop twisting the facts. We have always known your intention,” Najib said.

Najib then asked Muhyiddin to refute the statement made by Johor Bersatu chief Mohd Solihan Badri that he (Muhyiddin) would not contest in the coming Johor state elections “to focus his attention on ending Barisan Nasional’s dominance by defeating Umno”, as reported by Malaysiakini on Jan 26.

“I also dare Muhyiddin to deny an audio recording that went viral in 2020, where he told the party’s supreme council that he planned to bribe Umno MPs to join his party and ensure that Bersatu will be the largest component in the ruling coalition,” Najib said.

The former Umno president also shared a link to a YouTube audio clip named “Scheme of things – Muhyiddin memang plan ‘beli’ orang Umno” (“Scheme of things-Muhyiddin did plan to ‘buy’ Umno people”) which contained the alleged statement.

“Try to deny it.

“So, why should Umno need to align with a party, whose real intention was to end Umno forever from the beginning by bribing Umno members?” Najib said. - FMT