IPOH, Nov 14 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin went on the stump for his deputy Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu in Tambun here last night and was greeted with roars of "Perikatan Nasional” that drowned out the heavy downpour.

The former prime minister who helmed the government from March 2020 to August 2021 told the thousand-strong crowd that Ahmad Faizal, better known as Peja, will win back the Tambun federal seat even though he is facing off against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is contesting to be prime minister.

"Anwar can dream about it. But Ahmad Faizal will win with a big majority with God’s grace. Ahmad Faizal is not a giant killer, he is a giant.

"Anwar no longer has the experience to lead the country. He was not in the government for 20 years. And to come back from that and become prime minister is very difficult,” Muhyiddin said.

He added that there were many other hurdles in Anwar’s path to becoming prime minister.

Muhyiddin told the crowd that he had once advised Anwar long ago that he would never get support from the country’s Malay majority demographic group for as long as he remained friends with the DAP.

"It’s pity to see that Anwar will never be able to become the prime minister,” he said before sharing a snippet of their past when they were both in government under Barisan Nasional back in the 1990s.

"Back then, he was the finance minister and I was the youth and sport minister. During the last Cabinet meeting, the prime minister and his deputy did not show up for the meeting.

"Turned out they were fighting. Subsequently, Anwar was sacked from his Umno deputy president post and also from the deputy prime minister post due to some affairs, which we all know why.

"Anwar told me to wait for him and that I will become his deputy when he becomes the prime minister,” the Perikatan Nasional president said in his speech.

Muhyiddin recalled visiting Anwar at the hospital after being pardoned and was released from his first prison sentence.

He said Anwar asked him if he remembered their exchange back in 1988.

"I asked him, ‘what is it?’ He said, ‘when I become prime minister, you will become my deputy’. I told Anwar to forget about it,” Muhyiddin related.

"When I got the prime minister post, he paid me a courtesy call and visited me in my office.

"I said, ‘sorry Anwar, I’m the prime minister and you will never become the prime minister as long as you’re a friend of DAP. The Malay will reject you for that',” Muhyiddin added.