Muhyiddin blamed for Bersatu’s heavy defeat in Sabah polls, urged to step down

KOTA KINABALU – The leadership of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has been accused of being the main cause of the party’s major defeat in the 17th Sabah state election last Saturday.

Following the defeat, there were calls for Muhyiddin, who is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman to resign as Bersatu president.

Sabah Bersatu Supreme Leadership Council secretary Yunus Nurdin said Sabah Bersatu's machinery had actually made thorough preparations to face the state election, but their efforts were disrupted by internal conflicts that erupted before and during the campaign period.

He said several division leaders and members faced disciplinary action, including dismissal, simply for criticising the leadership of the PN chairman.

He also claimed that no financial allocations were provided by the central leadership to support the ground machinery, despite the party contesting 33 seats.

“The absence of financial resources made things difficult for us. Some candidates even had to pawn their cars, houses and assets so that we could fight in this election.

“We are all in debt now because of our party. Sabah Bersatu's failure (in the election), in my opinion, is embarrassing.

“We want the party president to take responsibility for these weaknesses as a leader and we urge him to step down as Bersatu president and PN chairman,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Yunus, who is also a member of the Bersatu Central Leadership Council, claimed that the call has the support of 20 out of 24 Bersatu divisions in Sabah.

He stressed that they were prepared to resign en masse if unfair action was taken against them by the party.

“We never thought of leaving Bersatu because we rebuilt this party in Sabah with our own effort and financial resources.

“So why should we leave? It should be the weak leader who resigns and makes way for someone better.

“We have voiced to the central leadership that this should not have happened to us, especially those facing the election campaign. It has deeply affected grassroots confidence in the party at the Sabah state level,” he said.

Yunus also said they have been unable to contact Sabah Bersatu Leadership Council chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee to hold discussions and resolve the crisis.

However, he expressed his appreciation to Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, whom he described as genuinely concerned about Sabah Bersatu and even willing to use his own financial resources to support the party machinery.