Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin declared that his party will remain a component of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and will contest the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections under the PN logo. The Johor polls are set for July 11, and Negeri Sembilan follows on August 1 [1, 2, 3, 4].
Muhyiddin said, "We will continue to remain as a member of PN, and no party can take action to remove Bersatu from PN unilaterally. ... I also want to make it clear that we will contest the Johor and Negri Sembilan elections using the PN logo" [1]. He added that Bersatu is prepared to face PAS in Johor if both parties contest the same seats after negotiations failed. "We have stated that this decision was made by Pas and not Bersatu, so be it. We are ready to fight on all fronts. We are not afraid," he said [1, 5, 4].
PAS officially announced on June 8 it ended all political cooperation with Bersatu [6, 4]. Datuk Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz of PAS said, "If a party has cut ties with Bersatu, refuses to abide by joint decisions, and is no longer committed to PN's identity and direction, the people would be right to question whether it is seeking to strengthen PN or moving in a different direction" [6].
PAS vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah disputed Muhyiddin's claim on the use of the PN logo. He said Muhyiddin's statement was premature and that the PN logo can only be used with the PN chairman's approval. "The authority or endorsement letter needs to be signed by the PN chairman, not a party president. Bersatu wanting to contest under the PN logo should be discussed and refined within PN first, and not simply announced," he said [7, 8].
PAS leadership has also warned that Bersatu contesting against PAS risks splitting opposition votes and ceding victories to rival coalition Pakatan Harapan. Bachok MP Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman said, "If there is a clash, PH will win. It will be a short-lived victory, a case of winning the battle but losing the war" [9, 10].
Perikatan Nasional moved to reshuffle coalition roles on June 18, removing Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin and Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali. Radzi was replaced by PN chairman Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor, who was then succeeded as treasurer by Subramaniam Surunaryan [11].
PN information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa urged Bersatu leaders to remain calm and avoid premature statements amid tensions. He clarified no PN Supreme Council meeting had taken place as of June 18. "The Supreme Council is the highest authority within PN. ... All these procedures will be observed, and the PN chairman undoubtedly understands this well," Annuar said [12].
Bersatu has called for an emergency PN Supreme Council meeting to discuss the coalition's direction and finalise seat negotiations ahead of the two state elections [1, 9, 12].
