JOHOR BARU, May 8 — In an effort to placate the alleged hostilities between Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) two main parties in Johor, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today held a special meeting with the state leaders of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Umno.
It was learnt that the hour-long meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya this afternoon and attended by Johor Umno’s two senior leaders Datuk Hasni Muhammad as the party’s state liaison chief and also its state secretary Datuk Samsolbari Jamali.
Johor Bersatu chief Mazlan Bujang was also said to be present together with its state secretary Mohd Solihan Badri with the party’s two former state mentri besar Datuk Osman Sapian and Dr Sahruddin Jamal.
A Bersatu source, close to the state administration, said Muhyiddin had personally wanted to know what had led to the friction between Bersatu and Umno in Johor.
“Muhyiddin suggested that Hasni, as the Johor mentri besar, formulate guidelines to be all inclusive to all component parties.
“At the same time, there was also a suggestion that Johor Umno needs to be represented by the state Barisan Nasional (BN) and not as a single party only being Umno, when dealing with state matters.
“Such guidelines will ensure the equal division of responsibilities, tasks and work with Bersatu in the state PN administration,” said the source to Malay Mail on condition of anonymity.
Last Friday, Malay Mail published a report of a purported plot to oust Hasni in a campaign that could bring down the Johor state government due to the escalating tensions between Umno and Bersatu in Johor.
Prior to that, there was already an open spat between Johor Umno and Bersatu leaders on the issue of the allocation of posts.
The source said that among other matters discussed was how the distribution of municipal councillors’ posts had created friction among both party’s grassroots.
“In addition to that, Osman had also brought up the subject of Bersatu’s grassroots in Johor where there should be cooperation with Umno and the other PN component parties in Johor.
“This was mainly from the grassroots’ view that Bersatu had been unfairly victimised by Umno in Johor,” said the source.
When contacted, Mazlan confirmed that the meeting with Muhyiddin took place today.
He said the meeting was to resolve the problems faced by both Bersatu and Umno in Johor over the past two weeks that was mainly due to a misunderstanding.
“I am confident that Muhyiddin has settled the issued pertaining to the two parties,” said Mazlan to Malay Mail.
Last week, tensions between Bersatu and Umno in Johor had threatened to destabilise the state and even trigger a dissolution of the state assembly on May 14.
The Johor assembly has 56 seats. Both Umno and DAP have 14 each. The remaining seats are held by Bersatu (11), Amanah (nine), PKR (four), MIC (two), PAS (one) and one independent.
If the current situation persists, there is a chance that the PN state government could collapse due to the purported cold war between Umno and Bersatu.
Of late, at the federal level, tensions are also reportedly brewing within Bersatu itself between those loyal to Muhyiddin and those who side with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan (PH) allies.
