Hadi exhorts Perikatan parties to win GE15 and remove ‘backdoor’ stain as coalition moots Muhyiddin as its PM candidate again

SERDANG, Aug 27 — The five component parties that make up Perikatan Nasional (PN) today nominated chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as their prime ministerial candidate should the co-ruling coalition win the 15th general election.

Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai called on the 1,300 delegates attending the PN convention here to work together so Muhyiddin could be prime minister again.

“Let’s gather all our strength from ministers to all members of the coalition to make Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin the 10th prime minister of Malaysia,” he said in his speech at the convention, which also marks PN’s second anniversary since being formed in 2020.

Sabah-based Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku secretary-general Edward Linggu echoed Lau but reminded Muhyiddin to allocate more funds for the north Borneo state’s infrastructure projects as part of PN’s election manifesto.

“We have to make Muhyiddin as the head of the government again and Perikatan Nasional must helm the country again without other influence,” he said.

Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president, became Malaysia’s eighth prime minister after a mass migration of MPs from his party and others from PKR abandoned the elected Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition in February 2020, effectively forcing the collapse of the government then led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

His 11-month long tenure led to detractors labelling PN a “backdoor” government.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, who spoke next, urged PN parties to rally and ensure their coalition wins big in the next election to shake off the “backdoor” label tarnishing its reputation.

At the same time, he insisted that the parties that took over Putrajaya after ousting PH had done so democratically.

“Not backdoor, democratic through collecting enough MPs. This is democracy.

“We take over to strengthen the government, establish PN and make Muhyiddin become PM,” he said in his speech.

PN comprises Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and Sabah-based entities Parti Progresif Sabah and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku.

In his opening speech this morning, Muhyiddin had confidently forecasted that the Umno-led Barisan Nasional — which it partnered to form the federal government last year under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob — will lose in the coming GE regardless of when it will be held.