Perikatan Nasional (PN) stands a chance of achieving a comfortable majority in Parliament if all its component parties “work together as a team,” or maybe even a two-third majority, said Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan, amid rumours of snap polls.
PN, an unregistered political entity, consists of Bersatu, Umno, PAS, MIC, MCA, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Sabah-based parties Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah, Parti Bersatu Sabah and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku.
GPS is an umbrella for Sarawak-based parties Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Parti Demokratik Progresif and Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak. Altogether PN makes up a loose pact of 12 parties.
Talks of the 15th general election (GE15) being held earlier than 2023 have been going on for some time. Singapore’s The Straits Times (ST) reported today that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin might be calling for a snap election, citing sources who said he made that intention during a June 4 supreme council meeting.
The Singaporean news publication said the reason for this was to end doubts over Muhyiddin’s mandate and accusations that PN was a “backdoor” government that lacked majority in Parliament.
This is after Muhyiddin and PN formed government on May 3 after a coup that saw the collapse of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s government.
Wan Saiful did not comment on the veracity of the ST claim but said Bersatu had to “gear up” for the 15th general election (GE15).
“If any party in the current 12 has reservation about PN, then I propose the remaining parties just go ahead with registration,” he said.
Wan Saiful said that a PAS and Bersatu combination would be “enough to sweep clean” most Malay majority seats. “What more if all others work closely together,” he said.
“These two Malay parties are considered as clean and none of their leaders have any serious baggage. We have the credibility to offer a new political vision for Malaysia. We don’t have to wait for everyone to agree. They can join later.” – June 12, 2020
