Sabah Bersatu blames Muhyiddin’s leadership and lack of support for the party’s heavy defeat in the state polls.
KOTA KINABALU: Bersatu’s heavy defeat in the recently-concluded 17th Sabah State Election was the result of party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s weaknesses, Sabah Bersatu secretary Yunus Nurdin claims.
He said that while the Sabah Bersatu machinery was preparing intensively for the polls, the party was disrupted by internal conflicts, including disciplinary action and expulsions against leaders and members who criticised Muhyiddin.
Yunus, a member of Bersatu’s central leadership, also claimed that the party provided no financial allocation to fund operations for Bersatu’s 33 candidates during the election.
“The lack of financial support made things difficult. Some candidates even had to pawn their cars, homes and personal assets to fight in this election. We are now in debt because of this. The failure of Bersatu Sabah is, in my view, embarrassing.
“We want the president to take responsibility for his leadership failures, and we urge him to step down as Bersatu president and as Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman,” he told a press conference here today.
In the Sabah polls, Bersatu, contesting under PN, lost all 33 seats it fielded. PN components Gerakan lost all three seats, while PAS won one of the five seats it contested.
Yunus also claimed that 20 out of 24 Bersatu divisions in Sabah support the call for Muhyiddin to step down. He and his supporters are also prepared to resign en masse if the party takes unfair action against them.
“We never considered leaving Bersatu because we rebuilt this party in Sabah with our own efforts and money. Why should we leave? It is the weak leader who should resign and make way for someone better.
“We have informed the central leadership that this should not have happened, especially when we were in the middle of campaigning. It deeply affected grassroots confidence across Sabah,” he said.
Yunus added that he has been unable to contact Sabah Bersatu chief Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee and urged him to step forward to help resolve the situation.
