Don’t wait, start preparing now, Muhyiddin tells Bersatu on GE15

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin today urged party members to begin preparing for the election now instead of waiting until nomination day to campaign, as talk continues on the dissolution of Parliament and early polls.

He said his experience at the March 12 election in Johor was that there had not been enough time to cover the ground in all of the state constituencies.

Muhyiddin, who is also chairman of Perikatan Nasional (PN), likewise called on all members, whether they held government positions or not, to campaign together to strengthen the coalition’s election machinery.

“Speaking of the 15th general election, do not wait until nomination day before we start to campaign,” he said in an interview with Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

He added that while Bersatu was seen as a new political party with weaknesses of its own, this should not be used as an excuse in facing the election to come.

He said several issues should be addressed in order to strengthen the machinery, members and party logistics.

“We can use the excuse that we are a new party, but the timing and situation will not permit, so let us do what we can to the best of our abilities.

“In an election, new parties and old ones alike will face the ballot box.”

At the Johor state election, PN won three state seats while Barisan Nasional won 40.

On the coalition’s performance at the Melaka and Johor elections, Muhyiddin said the support for PN had been encouraging and showed potential for the pact to continue growing.

“Both the Melaka and Johor polls proved that PN has great potential,” he said.

“People say we were the runner-ups — a meaningless position — but the support for PN was clear.”