Muhyiddin stresses BN will only field candidates from component parties in coming polls
KUCHING: There will be no direct Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates in the state in the coming 13th General Election(GE).
This was confirmed by BN deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who stressed that BN would stick to its principle of fielding only candidates from component parties in elections.
“We are still holding to our principles that the candidates must be from one of BN’s component parties,” he said at a press conference after a gathering with some 3,000 civil servants at a leading hotel here yesterday.
Asked on the ongoing internal crisis faced by the state BN component parties, Muhyiddin who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said that all the component parties had made efforts to resolve their issues and find the solutions to the problems.
“Those involved understand that when GE comes, we must all be united as a team. There will be no differences and dispute as this will only tarnish the image of the component party involved, which also represents BN,” he said.
At the press conference, Muhyiddin also expressed his confidence that BN could win most of the seats in the state including Sibu which was wrested by the opposition in the 2010 by-election.
“Based on what has been reported to me by state BN chairman Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud as well as from PBB, SUPP, SPDP and PRS leaders, I am confident that BN Sarawak will be able to maintain its position.
“Regardless of what parliamentary constituency we are contesting in, I can say that we will win the majority of seats,” he said confidently.
However, Muhyiddin reminded the state BN not to rest on their laurels but instead to be aware of what had to be rectified .
“Although there are ongoing campaigns from opposition parties trying to penetrate the constituencies in the state, it has been proven in the 11th State Election that they were not able to win many seats.
“However, we still need to take more initiative and work harder to increase the support from voters,” he said and advised state BN leaders to also prepare and focus on a number of selected areas for the upcoming GE.
There are 31 parliamentary seats in the state; 29 of which are held by BN component parties while the remaining two seats are held by DAP.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu is allocated 14 parliamentary seats and followed Sarawak United People’s Party (7); Parti Rakyat Sarawak (6) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (4).