SHAH ALAM, Nov 6 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) has not yet set a candidate for the chief minister’s post in the event the coalition succeeds in forming a state government following the Melaka State Election on Nov 20.
PN chairman and Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the matter would be announced at an appropriate time after the nomination process for the state election had been completed.
“We will wait for the right time, and what’s important is for them to face the nomination – we will announce (the CM candidate) later,” he said during a press conference after the announcement of PN candidates for the Melaka State Election and handing over of credential letters here today.
Earlier, Barisan Nasional (BN) had announced its 28 candidates for the state polls, and named Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali as the coalition’s chief ministerial candidate.
Asked whether PN also required all its 28 candidates to sign a statutory declaration to prevent party hopping, Muhyiddin said the coalition had not made such plans.
“We are still confident that all our candidates are loyal to what their respective parties have decided. I am confident that the leaders of the existing parties know who they (candidates) are and that their loyalty is undivided even after the election, God willing,” he said.
Earlier, BN announced that all its candidates for the Melaka state polls had signed SDs to prevent party hopping, and that legal action would be taken against any BN state assemblyman who defected after getting the people’s mandate.
Asked about BN’s decision to go solo in the state polls, Muhyiddin said he respected the decision, and, in fact, it did not affect the relationship between the two coalitions, including at the Federal level.
“It is a bit unusual, but I think it is for the sake of the nation that is to be done to ensure some form of stability,” he said, adding that even the present Federal government was willing to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Opposition.
Polling date for the Melaka state election has been set for Nov 20, while the nomination of candidates is on Nov 8 and early voting on Nov 16.
The election is being held following the dissolution of the state assembly on Oct 4, after four state assemblymen withdrew their support for Sulaiman as chief minister at the time.
