IPOH, Nov 14 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he can sense the end of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

The former prime minister, who had been the second highest-ranking official in BN, attributed the affliction plaguing the coalition to the criminal trials which Umno president Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is facing.

"I have a gut feeling that maybe the BN’s time has reached the end. Even though he’s from Perak, but I think you all know that he has been tainted with all the graft cases that I refuse to talk about here,” Muhyiddin said in his speech while on a tour of Perak for the PN.

The Johor-born, who is also Bersatu president, is defending his Pagoh parliamentary seat but was here to campaign for his party deputy Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who is seeking reelection in Tambun but is up against Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar in the 15th general election.

Muhyiddin, who is also seeking to return as the next prime minister, touted PN as the only alternative to a BN government.

He called on voters to stay away from electing a PH government as the other option to BN.

He also chided Anwar for branding him Bapa PKP — meaning "father of movement control order” or MCO in English.

Muhyiddin said the travel restrictions he had imposed as prime minister when the country was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic had helped save many lives.

"He called me Bapa PKP but the movement control order has saved many lives and our country has been listed as one of the best in handling the pandemic,” he said.

Election candidates have been stepping up their pace in the second half of the two-week campaigning with coalition leaders criss-crossing the country to stump for their colleagues.

Early voting is tomorrow and polling day is this Saturday.