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Bersatu ready to face Umno

Hajiji (right) presenting a memento to Muhyiddin.


KOTA KINABALU: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the party is ready to face Umno in the next general election.

However, the former Prime Minister said that the two parties may still be in good terms here in the state level.

“It is clear that they (Umno) will not be working together with us (Bersatu), which basically means that they will fight against us. This is reality in politics, sometimes you are friends, other times you are enemies,” he told reporters after meeting the Sabah Bersatu leaders here on Saturday.

On October 1, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had confirmed that his party would not be working with Perikatan Nasional (PN), a coalition which Bersatu is in, in the next election.

Ahmad Zahid’s statement comes a day after PN said it would be discussing seat allocations without involving Barisan Nasional (BN).

“If we have to collide with them in the election and there is no way for us to stop it, we will face them,” said Muhyiddin, adding that Bersatu has its own ‘strategies’.

He said that Bersatu has conducted researches and studied the response given by the public.

Muhyiddin said that what matters is what the people want, not what the political parties want.

“Who do they (the people) trust? Who are they confident with especially during the Covid-19 pandemic?” he said.

Muhyiddin said that Bersatu is willing to accept any decisions from Umno and Bersatu is ready to face whatever scenario.

He also hinted that the case in Sabah may be different from what is happening in the federal level.

He said that Bersatu and Umno in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition have ‘good vibes’.

He disclosed that the meeting touched on the strengthening of Sabah Bersatu and its preparation in facing the next general election.

“Sabah Bersatu, under the leadership of Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, has been solid. There is a close cooperation the division and state leaders,” he said, adding that Sabah Bersatu has been doing a good job in handling the pandemic.

“I am proud to say that Sabah Bersatu is one of the strongest Bersatu chapters. There are about 108,000 members, with more people waiting to get registered,” he further said.

Although the date of the election has not been set yet, Muhyiddin stressed that Sabah Bersatu must be well prepared.

He said that Sabah Bersatu has begun its strategy planning for the election.

Muhyiddin opined that it is vital for the parties under GRS to have the same direction.

However, he said that it will be up to GRS to decide on whether they will work together or not.

He said that Sabah Bersatu will also be emphasising on Undi 18, which will be implemented in the next election.

He also revealed that PN had rejected Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) application to join the coalition.