Do not make statements jeopardising PN's chances in Sabah - Annuar
BN secretary-general Annuar Musa has urged Perikatan Nasional (PN) partners not to issue any statements which could damage their chances of winning in the upcoming Sabah state election.
Annuar (above) said that space should be given to the leadership of all its allied parties to discuss matters related to the Sabah polls....
BN secretary-general Annuar Musa has urged Perikatan Nasional (PN) partners not to issue any statements which could damage their chances of winning in the upcoming Sabah state election.
Annuar (above) said that space should be given to the leadership of all its allied parties to discuss matters related to the Sabah polls.
As the state election was unexpected, it requires thorough discussions between the component parties in PN as well as Muafakat Nasional and Sabah Umno.
“Statements being issued by individuals about the number of seats to be contested are premature and will cause complications to the parties fielding candidates later.
“PN has not held any discussions regarding the number of seats to contest and will work hard to ensure that it will be a straight fight during the state election,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian today.
Meanwhile, on Twitter last night, Annuar had said it is within Bersatu’s rights to contest as many seats as it likes, though he added that PN allies must give way to the “stronger party” if they wish to confront Warisan in a straight fight.
“Bersatu can contest as many seats as it wants. That is their right. Try it; the same goes for BN.
“However, if there is a desire for a straight fight against Warisan, there must be negotiations to ensure that we make way for the stronger party to contest,” Annuar had said.
He did not elaborate on what he meant by “stronger party”.
In a separate statement, Umno Youth exco Azril Rizal Yusof Mohd Sarit advised Bersatu to reflect on its situation and to not become too arrogant due to its “temporary power at certain levels”.
“As a party which became a part of the government due to support from Umno at the national level, Bersatu should act more rationally.
"(Do) not play with fire by releasing statements trying to put down Umno and its leadership, and show your arrogance in fighting for seats previously contested by Umno without discussing it with the party,” he said.
Bersatu, he added, should remind its members of the number of seats the party managed to win in the previous general election.
Sabah Bersatu head Hajiji Mohd Noor yesterday said the party had identified 45 seats out of 73 available for it to contest.
This included eight seats that Bersatu did not contest in the last polls, but were won by Umno lawmakers who had since defected to Bersatu.
Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin, meanwhile, said his party will be fielding candidates for 32 seats that "traditionally" belonged to the party.
As of the dissolution of the state assembly on July 30, Sungai Sibuga assemblyperson Musa Aman is Umno's sole lawmaker in Sabah.
He claimed to have mustered sufficient support from other assemblypersons to form a new state government, but this became moot following the dissolution of the assembly.
