Muhyiddin claims being wooed by other parties, is not the pursuer

 

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin says he is the one being wooed by other political parties, instead of being the one pursuing new alliances.

This is amid claims he was trying to get Pejuang and Warisan to join forces with his Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.

Telling his side of the story, Muhyiddin (above) said after the Johor polls, he was approached by leaders of several parties including Pejuang.

These parties, he said, opined that it was better for parties outside BN to band together for the 15th general election (GE15) to deter BN's return to power.

"They realise the majority of people don't support BN, which is still stained by kleptocracy.

"But because of multi-cornered fights, the anti-BN votes are split," he said.

BN had won supermajorities in both the Malacca and Johor state elections.

However, in both state elections, BN secured less than 50 percent of the popular vote.

Muhyiddin said that after being approached, he took the initiative to meet with the leaders of parties that are in the government and opposition to lay foundations for cooperation in GE15.

This included his meeting with Pejuang chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, which he said was arranged by a senior Pejuang leader.

Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal claimed earlier today that Mahathir had sent his emissary Khairuddin Salleh to arrange a meeting with Muhyiddin.

According to Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir, the meeting between Mahathir and Muhyiddin took place two weeks ago.

Pejuang chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad

Mahathir claimed the Bersatu president wanted support to become prime minister again.

The Pejuang chairperson appears to have rejected cooperation with Bersatu, calling Muhyiddin a backstabber and a terrible prime minister.

Both men were both in Bersatu until the Sheraton Move in 2020 which saw Mahathir getting sacked from the party.

Despite Mahathir's apparent reluctance to reconcile with Bersatu, his son Mukhriz has indicated that Pejuang is willing to bury the hatchet.

Meanwhile, Warisan president Shafie Apdal also claimed to have been contacted by Muhyiddin in order to form a GE15 alliance.

Pakatan Harapan chief Anwar Ibrahim also said he had been meeting with Muhyiddin, but denied they discussed putting the latter back into power. - Mkini