Bersatu supporters can vote freely in seats not contested by PN, says Muhyiddin

PAGOH: Bersatu will not instruct its supporters to cast their ballots for other parties in constituencies Perikatan Nasional is not contesting in the Johor polls, party president Muhyiddin Yassin said.

Muhyiddin said he would leave it to Bersatu members and supporters to decide which party they wanted to vote for, including those not part of the opposition coalition, but aligned with its aspirations.

“There are situations where they (Bersatu members and supporters) are reluctant to vote for parties (that are not PN components) because they dislike them.

“So I won’t tell them to vote for UmDAP, for obvious reasons,” he said referring to the label to denigrate Umno’s relationship with DAP as a coalition partner in the federal unity government.

The former PN chairman was speaking to reporters while campaigning for Dr Sahruddin Jamal, the coalition’s candidate for Bukit Kepong.

Muhyiddin said Bersatu decided to adopt such an approach to prevent any confusion among voters as well as its supporters.

“PN aims to get as many votes as possible, so we will not confound the voters by telling them who to vote for,” he added.

Yesterday, PAS called on all its members and supporters to vote for Umno or Barisan Nasional candidates in state constituencies where PN is not contesting in the Johor polls.

The party’s deputy president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, said he is confident that party members understood the importance of ummah unity and that PN is the platform towards achieving that goal.

There are 56 seats up for grabs in the Johor state election, with 29 needed for a simple majority.

Under PN, PAS is contesting 11 seats, Bersatu 16, the Malaysian Indian People’s Party five, and Pejuang one. Parti Wawasan Negara and Gerakan are skipping the state polls.

Johor BN will contest all 56 seats, and has reaffirmed its decision to go solo without any electoral cooperation or plans to form a government with any other party. PH has also fielded candidates in all 56 state seats.