Umno PM candidate if we win the most seats, insists party veep
Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin has insisted that the Perikatan Nasional prime ministerial candidate must come from Umno if it wins the most seats in the 15th general election.
This is after Umno supreme council member Annuar Musa confirmed that Muafakat Nasional - an alliance between Umno and PAS - had agreed for Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin to remain as the prime minister if Perikatan Nasional wins the next general election.
Khaled said appointing a prime ministerial candidate from a party which won the least number of seats, like how the previous Pakatan Harapan government did, went against the practice of democracy.
"After the 14th general election, the chairperson of Bersatu, which only has 13 seats, was appointed as the prime minister.
"Bersatu was the weakest party in Harapan but because it has the prime minister's position, it was able to attract MPs to defect to them. And this was done by Mahathir to strengthen his party.
"This is an unhealthy political culture that must end. We can no longer agree to nominate a prime minister who does not have true strength. It will make the government unstable and be in disarray," he said in a statement.
For this reason, Khaled stressed that Umno must have its own prime ministerial candidate if it wins the most seats in the next general election.
"Even if Umno does not win the most seats, Umno must be ready with its (prime ministerial) candidate if that candidate can get support to form the government.
"Umno has many potential candidates who are prime minister material. So it is up to Umno to get consensus on nominating one," he said.
Khaled also said Umno should not limit itself to Muhyiddin.
"Even though Muhyiddin has been named as the prime ministerial candidate, Umno should not be hasty to restrict its position.
"Umno's position must come from a party consensus based on the political dynamics of the country," he said.
Meanwhile, Umno's Johor Bahru MP Shahrir Abdul Samad, who had previously also expressed reservation over Anuar's announcement, said BN's decision to support Muhyiddin was to restore political stability following the collapse of the Harapan government in late February and to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, he pointed out that Bersatu's core number of MPs, without defections, was only at 11 after losing the Tanjung Piai by-election.
In a Facebook post, he said, in contrast, Umno and PAS have scored victory after victory in by-elections.
He questioned if BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi could say "no" to Bersatu if it held the prime minister's position.
"If Muhyiddin is the prime minister (after 15th general election), what will become of his right-hand people in the government and Bersatu?
"What about the G10? Azmin Ali, too, is a key person," he said in reference to the group of 10 PKR defectors led by its former deputy president Azmin Ali who are now siding with Bersatu.
In contrast, he said Muafakat Nasional did not have such complications.
"With Muafakat Nasional, Umno and PAS have proceeded prudently. There wasn't even a need to declare a prime ministerial candidate," he said.
The Harapan government, which came into power in the 2018 general election, collapsed in late February after Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin pulled his party out of the coalition government.
Muhyiddin was sworn in as the new prime minister on March 1 after Mahathir refused to lead a new coalition the former put together comprising Bersatu, BN, PAS, GPS, PBS and Star.
Mahathir has warned that Bersatu will be destroyed in the 15th general election under PN due to overlaps in electoral constituencies with Umno and PAS.
Some in Umno also believe Muafakat Nasional can pull off a significant win without having to accommodate Bersatu in the next general election.
However, Muhyiddin has been trying to formalise PN as a coalition and to share parliamentary seats with component parties for the next general election. - Mkini
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