GE15: Main enemy is Barisan, says Muhyiddin on Perikatan's potential collaborations

SERDANG: Perikatan Nasional does not rule out teaming up with other parties who similarly view Barisan Nasional as a common enemy in the upcoming 15th General Election, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic).

The Perikatan chairman acknowledged that entering the election in multi-cornered fights might make it difficult to defeat Barisan and said that the coalition was open to the idea of collaborating with other parties.

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“If there are certain parties that want to discuss with us, we are open.

“The main enemy here is Barisan. These never-ending problems related to abuse of power and corruption are not good for the country.

“If another party has a similar aim with us, which is to avoid the country falling to these problems, then we need to discuss how to avoid multi-cornered fights that could affect our chances,” said Muhyiddin at a press conference after the Perikatan Convention here Saturday (Aug 27).

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However, when asked if collaborating with Barisan was totally out of the cards, Muhyiddin was non-committal.

“It is hard to say. There are so many ifs and ifs. I would not rule it out, nor would I welcome it.

“The situation is dynamic. There are fallouts within Umno. Politics, after all, is a game of possibilities,” said Muhyiddin, who is also Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president.

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If faced with no choice but to contest in multi-cornered fights in the general election, Muhyiddin said Perikatan was ready to duel on its own strengths.

He said Perikatan will ensure its candidates only compromise with individuals with good credentials and are free of corrupt backgrounds.

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“Our potential candidates must be screened first to ensure their background is clean. We did that during the Melaka and Johor elections, and I do not think any other party did the same.

“This will convince voters to choose our candidates," he said.

Perikatan and Barisan are currently partners in the federal government, but both coalitions are going to contest solo in GE15.