Mahkota polls: Bersatu is PAS' sacrificial lamb – Umno leader

Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed accused PAS of using its ally as a “sacrificial lamb” after Bersatu was chosen to represent Perikatan Nasional in the Mahkota by-election.

“The Mahkota state seat is BN and Pakatan Harapan’s fortress, which is a nightmare for PAS.

“So, they easily gave it to Bersatu to contest, seemingly in the spirit of solidarity, but the reality is, PAS is afraid to contest there,” he said on Facebook today.

Two days ago, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan announced that Bersatu would contest in the upcoming Mahkota polls.

Following that, Johor PAS said it would support its ally to capture the seat.

“From the start, we’ve said the final decision lies in the hands of the central leadership,” said Johor PAS chief Abdullah Husin.

“They took various factors into account when reaching the decision (to field a candidate from Bersatu), and we’ve accepted it.

“We will help the PN candidate in the by-election,” he was reported as saying.

The Election Commission set Sept 28 as polling day for the by-election in Johor, while the nomination and early voting dates are Sept 14 and 24, respectively.

The by-election was called following the death of the incumbent assemblyperson, Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on Aug 2.

PAS has contested Mahkota seat in every state election since 2004. However, it gave up the seat to Bersatu’s Mohamad Nor Lingan in the Johor state polls in March 2022, who was defeated by Sharifah.

Still reeling from Nenggiri defeat

Elaborating, Nur Jazlan claimed PAS made this decision following its resounding defeat in the Nenggiri polls last month.

As such, the Dewan Negara deputy president opined that the Islamist party may have lost its fighting spirit.

“Looks like PAS doesn’t want to get humiliated again. They are afraid to lose. Don’t tell me that they want to lose twice in a row?” he asked.

It should be noted that while Bersatu won the Nenggiri seat in the 2023 Kelantan state election, the party chose former Gua Musang PAS deputy youth chief Mohd Rizwadi Ismail to contest the by-election.

Rizwadi left the Islamist party just about 24 hours before joining Bersatu.

Defending the move, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said Bersatu had agreed to it.

“The priority is to have a winnable candidate. So when we were considering two to three names, he (Rizwadi) was found to be better accepted by the voters.

“So, we proposed his name and Bersatu agreed,” he was reported as saying.

On that note, Nur Jazlan said PAS is adept at manipulating others for their own interests, with their speciality being scapegoating others.

“And Bersatu has become their tool. The problem is that Bersatu seems to be like a willing partner (in PAS’ political game).

“Perhaps, Bersatu is okay with it as long as they have a role to play… even if it’s just being a sacrificial lamb,” he added.

On Aug 17, BN trounced PAS in the Nenggiri by-election, with BN’s Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani garnering 9,091 votes compared to Mohd Rizwadi Ismail’s 5,739.

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