Prove you’re sincere, Umno-BN told on working with PH for Nenggiri poll

Gua Musang Pakatan Harapan chief Asharun Uji says a stronger alliance must be formed to gain public confidence.

(FMT) – Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) in Gua Musang have been urged to demonstrate their sincerity about collaborating with Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the Nenggiri by-election on Aug 17.

Gua Musang PH chief Asharun Uji said while the local branch of BN had expressed its intention to work together, no concrete plans for cooperation at the grassroots level had been put in place.

They need to prove their sincerity. We do not want Gua Musang Umno to still feel sceptical about this collaboration. It is crucial to convince the public, and most importantly, PH-BN must forge a stronger alliance, he told FMT.

Our machinery is uncoordinated and lacks unity at the moment. We have no issues and will always provide cooperation in terms of operations.

Asharun also expressed disappointment with some local Umno leaders who had reportedly played down PH’s ability to help secure victory for the BN candidate representing the unity government in the race for the Kelantan state seat.

Do not underestimate our (PH’s) machinery in Gua Musang. Many statements from Gua Musang BN leaders have downplayed our capabilities, including not wanting DAP to campaign, he said, adding that PH had over 2,000 supporters in the Nenggiri state constituency.

He also said that Gua Musang PH had not been invited to coordinate efforts after BN announced Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani as its candidate, despite BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi inviting them to a machinery launch programme this afternoon.

On Saturday, Gua Musang Umno chief Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah told FMT in an interview that there was no need for DAP to campaign in the by-election as the area was predominantly Malay.

However, contrary to a news portal’s report last Thursday, Tengku Razaleigh said he had not suggested that DAP stay out of the by-election.