KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s assertion that Perikatan Nasional (PN) will wrest Penang in the next state election is "mere propaganda”, according to Pakatan Harapan (PH) secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He was responding to the former prime minister’s remarks in George Town yesterday that 80 per cent of voters in the country, including PH-led states like Penang and Selangor, were now in favour of PN after GE15 last November.

"There is nothing wrong to harbour a desire [to win] like what Muhyiddin is doing but Muhyiddin himself knows that his statement is mere propaganda that even he does not believe in, yet he wants the people to,” Saifuddin was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini in a news report published today.

Saifuddin Nasution, who is also home minister and Pulau Jerejak assemblyman, told the news portal that Muhyiddin's use of GE15 as a yardstick for making those claims was too simplistic and ignored the dissension within PN component parties PAS and Gerakan.

Gerakan deputy president Oh Teong Keong who is also its Penang chief is known to have criticised PAS election director and its Kedah MB Datuk Seri Sanusi Md Noor for questioning Penang's sovereignty.

Oh has more recently spoken out against another PAS lawmaker, Kuantan MP Wan Razali Wan Noor, and demanded the latter apologise to the nursing fraternity for saying their uniform was too tight and not Shariah compliant.

"Just based on the GE15 results, Muhyiddin has taken a simplistic approach to building a narrative that PN will continue to attract voters’ support..

"By right, since seven months ago, the people can clearly see that while PN continues to play politics, the [federal] government remains focused on the economy and people’s welfare,” Saifuddin Nasution was quoted as saying.