Wan Fayhsal brushes off Bersatu defections, Muda's threat

Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has brushed off concerns that the recent defections from 300 Tanjung Piai Bersatu members would damage the party’s efforts in the upcoming Johor state election.

“(The defections) are an isolated case. This is normal, every time we face an election, something like this will happen.

“In fact, if you remember, similar incidents happened leading up to the 14th General Election (GE14) where you had members defecting from one party to another en masse.

“The support for the party is not just about the number of members, but I believe it is the fence-sitting voters who will make a difference,” Wan Fayhsal said.

He was speaking to reporters after visiting a church lot that had burned down last week in Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam.

It was earlier reported that some 300 members of Tanjung Piai Bersatu had announced last night that they quit the party to join Warisan, the Sabah-based party that is spreading its wings to the peninsula.

The move was led by Tanjung Piai Bersatu secretary Hisamuddin Busri who claimed that the party was losing direction and no longer reflected the principles of the struggle and hopes of the grassroots.

Wan Fayhsal had also today brushed off the threat that the Muda, led by his predecessor Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, poses in the Johor snap polls.

He said Muda will likely attract young voters who already supports the opposition in Pakatan Harapan, whereas Bersatu Youth’s focus demographic is more similar to BN, that is those who are Malay bumiputera.

Despite that, he said it would actually be good for Perikatan Nasional (PN) if Muda were to wrest young voters from BN in some areas.

“We are not in complete opposition. In fact, if Muda can deny BN (the victory) in certain areas, that is a boon to us.

“We have a common goal actually. Our common goal is to deny BN a win in Johor,” he said.

The Election Commission will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, Feb 9, to fix the dates for the Johor state election, following the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly on Jan 22.

 - Mkini