Bersatu Sabah calls on Muhyiddin to resign after state election loss

KOTA KINABALU (Dec 3): Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sabah is calling for party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to resign following the party’s failure in the 17th Sabah state election.

Bersatu Libaran Division head Yunus Nurdin said Muhyiddin must take full responsibility after Bersatu failed to secure a single seat in the polls.

He said 20 Bersatu divisions had unanimously agreed to call for Muhyiddin’s immediate resignation as Bersatu president and Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman.

Yunus, who is also a Bersatu Supreme Council member and PN Sabah secretary, said PN’s poor performance stemmed from a lack of campaign support and internal political issues.

“There were significant shortcomings in the aspect of campaign assistance for Bersatu Sabah or PN Sabah as we did not receive any support, assistance or campaign support such as allocation of election funds.

“This also includes preparation of campaign materials such as logistics campaigns involving promotions for the candidates themselves,” he told a press conference at the Bersatu office, here.

He added that internal political movements at the central level also contributed to the defeat.

“The central leadership has decided on several surprising decisions especially in Sabah, among them is the dismissals and suspensions of several key members.

“We have raised this issue with the central leadership that this should not have happened, especially nearing the campaign period, but was ignored.

“This internal political move has had a significant impact on the grassroots confidence where we also face various criticisms by voters who stated that how can we win the election while this party is in the process of firing its members,” he said.

Yunus said Bersatu accepted the defeat with an open heart, but accountability was necessary.

He said 20 of the 24 Bersatu divisions had agreed that the failures and weaknesses pointed directly to Muhyiddin’s leadership.

“We want the president to be held accountable and take full responsibility and to step down as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president and PN chairman,” he said.

When asked if Bersatu Sabah chief Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee was aware of the matter, Yunus said he had not spoken to him.

“I actually did not discuss with the Bersatu Sabah chief because I tried to contact him but he did not answer my call,” he said.

Yunus added that all 20 division heads were prepared to face disciplinary action for their stance.

“We are aware, the Sabah leadership is aware that after this there may be disciplinary action taken and I would like to explain that if any action is taken from any one of the central leadership, we will not hesitate to take a drastic action that can paralyse the entire leadership of the Bersatu Sabah state leadership body,” he said.

PN fielded 42 candidates in the Sabah polls but failed to capture a single seat.