Muhyiddin asked me to ditch DAP, says former Malaysian defence minister

KUALA LUMPUR — Amanah president Mohamad Sabu has revealed that Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin had urged him to ditch the Democratic Action Party (DAP) so they can work together to form a new government.

Mr Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, said the Pagoh Member of Parliament (MP) approached him and said he had secured enough MPs to take over Putrajaya from Pakatan Harapan.

“I was approached by Muhyiddin. He told me he has enough numbers to form a new government and asked me to join him. But we must leave DAP out.

“I would usually stay quiet. I don’t like to quarrel but I said no. We cannot leave DAP out. Yes we may have lost several by-elections but why must we allow this government to be hijacked in the middle of everything?” the former defence minister recalled during a PH ceramah (talk) in Klang on Saturday (March 7) night.

He slammed Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional for staging a coup rather than wait for an election.

“If you want to win, work hard for it. If we lose we would not mind. We will work harder but staging a coup is unacceptable. They know PH is doing better and better and they are afraid of their court cases being heard, so they chose to use an illegal way by sabotaging a legitimate government.

“If we can wait 60 years to win an election, why could Umno and PAS not wait for five years? There is no government in this world where the losing party becomes the government while the winning party becomes the opposition.

“No wonder none of the European countries has yet to congratulate this backdoor government,” he said.

Mr Mat Sabu then affirmed that PH would abide by the rule of law in their efforts to recapture Putrajaya.

“We will use the constitution and we will respect the rule of law. If we lose the election then we lose,” he said.

Mr Mat Sabu also said the mastermind of the plot to overthrow PH was Mr Muhyiddin, who is now the new prime minister under the Perikatan Nasional federal government.

“This Azmin Ali is just a small fry. Muhyiddin, he really wanted to form Malay government,” he added, referring to the sacked PKR deputy president who had joined Mr Muhyiddin with a group of MPs from PKR.

Mr Muhyiddin was sworn in as the country’s eighth prime minister last week after a week of political uncertainties.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who chairs Bersatu, was furious with Mr Muhyiddin for choosing to work with Umno and PAS.

The Langkawi MP has branded Mr Muhyiddin a traitor and said he was tricked by Mr Muhyiddin during the political turmoil.

Mr Muhyiddin has denied Dr Mahathir’s claim, saying he needed to save the country from falling apart and he did what he needed to do.

After a week, Mr Muhyiddin has yet to form his cabinet, with analysts saying he is having a tough time forming a government that is clean and with integrity. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT