AN UMNO leader has poured cold water on Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) mission to take over Putrajaya before the 16th general election (GE16), calling such a move nothing but “wishful thinking” on the coalition’s part.
UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said PN has become increasingly unsure about the possibilities of returning to power through the ballot paper, and this is why the coalition has repeatedly spread propaganda that it will return to Putrajaya in the near future.
“Why is PN harping on the narrative that [the current unity government] will fall before GE16? This is because PN wants to prove that it is still relevant,” Puad said in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday (Nov 28).
He said Bersatu, too, is concerned that there will be a “trust deficit” among its members, as seen in the case of the four Bersatu MPs who had recently declared their support for the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led unity government.
“However, PN’s move has backfired. PN seems to be impatient, disruptive, greedy and unwilling to remain as opposition, and the people have become sick and tired of this,” he added.
“Four years is too long for PAS and Bersatu to be the opposition as both parties have gotten used to wielding federal power.”
Puad also touched on Muhyiddin’s statement yesterday (Nov 27) that the coalition’s fielding of Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar in Kemaman was a stepping stone to prepare the Terengganu menteri besar as a future prime minister candidate.
“[Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin] must be furious. Bersatu is falling apart,” he quipped.
Speaking during a press conference in Felda Kerteh 5 in Kemaman, Muhyiddin had said that Ahmad Samsuri’s selection as the candidate for the Kemaman by-election was a strategic move to demonstrate PN’s strength and leadership capabilities to the public.
“It can’t be denied (Ahmad Samsuri being positioned as a PM candidate), because there will be a time for PN to create history either before GE16 or after it, with hopes that we will form the government,” he was reported as saying.
“So, all these moves are strategic steps which can show to the rakyat we have many leaders who are intelligent, capable, with praiseworthy behaviour, and that there are moderates and professionals (among us).”
Similarly, PAS had previously hinted that the party had bigger plans ahead for Ahmad Samsuri, with PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man saying that the former’s excellent record when governing Terengganu can be utilised and contributed towards the country should he win the seat during next month’s polls. – Nov 28, 2023
Main pic credit: New Straits Times
