IF Perikatan Nasional (PN) wins the forthcoming state elections (PRN), the menteri besar for Selangor and Negri Sembilan will be from Bersatu, while a PAS leader will govern Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
PN chairperson Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also did not specify who the coalition has chosen to lead Penang, which PN is also eyeing in the polls.
He stressed that although PN has set its sights on carrying all six states, Selangor is especially important as it is the wealthiest state in the country.
“It is the most developed state, not just now, but it has been for a long time. It contributes 24.8% of the national gross domestic product, translating to around RM300 bil.
“We know this. That’s why we want to take over its administration, but we know it will not be easy. If you had asked me two to three years ago whether we could take over Selangor, I would have said, ‘We will try’,” news portal Free Malaysia Today reported the former prime minister as saying.
“Now, I would say ‘God willing’, because there has been a change in the political landscape after the general election.”
According to Muhyiddin, the confidence stems not from the green wave (support for PAS) but the “people’s wave.”
“It has caused many UMNO seats to fall, and we have taken over many seats with a strong majority.”
Selangor PN liaison secretary Dr Afif Bahardin recently stated that the coalition is optimistic about taking the state due to “increasing support” from voters.
Furthermore, Muhyiddin, who is also the president of Bersatu stated that PN has decided how administrative positions will be distributed among the coalition’s component parties if it wins the election.
These pertain to the posts of menteri besar or chief minister, exco members, heads of state government-linked companies, local councillors, and even village security and development committee chiefs.
“After we concluded seat negotiations, we started to discuss forming the government (in all six states). We are one step ahead. We planned it this way because we wanted to show we are truly united,” claimed the Pagoh MP.
Last week, Muhyiddin announced that PN would contest all 245 seats in the PRN. He also noted that PAS will contest the bulk of it at 126 seats, followed by Bersatu (83) and Gerakan (36).
He later emphasised that PAS received the most seats due to its ‘seniority’ and the party’s many incumbent seats in states such as Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah.
As such, the term “big brother” does not exist in PN, he said. – June 28, 2023
