Kelantan PPBM ready for GE15 ‘with or without Umno’

 PETALING JAYA: Kelantan PPBM says it is ready to face the 15th general election with or without Umno but has kept the door open to working with the party.

Kelantan PPBM chairman Kamaruddin Md Nor said he wants to avoid any seat clashes in the next election, but added that he was prepared for the likelihood that Umno does not want to negotiate anymore.

“It would be better that way (for Umno and PPBM to negotiate first). PPBM is open, whether they want to negotiate or not,” he told FMT.

In the meantime, Kamaruddin said, the PPBM state chapter will strengthen its partnership with PAS, issuing a warning to Umno that it would fall once again in Kelantan if it faces the elections on its own.

“If Umno wants to go it alone with Barisan Nasional in GE15, that’s their right. But they’ll lose again. Whatever it is, it’s up to the Umno leadership to set the party’s course and approach,” he said.

Recently, Machang MP and Kelantan Umno chief Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub announced that he had retracted his support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, becoming the first Umno MP to officially do so.

His decision revived the question of the legitimacy of Muhyiddin’s government, which had also been questioned by Umno veteran and Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Umno elections director Tajuddin Abdul Rahman had also said more of the party’s MPs could soon follow in Jazlan’s footsteps to force a snap election.

Kamaruddin said PAS supporters will be the key factor in a three-way fight in the state, particularly with Kelantan Umno previously saying it would only contest seats where PPBM fields candidates, and not against PAS.

Citing results in the 2018 elections, he said Umno would find it hard to defend its five parliamentary seats in Kelantan if there were to be a three-way fight among Umno, PPBM and Pakatan Haparan (PH).

In 2018, PAS won 37 state seats and nine parliamentary seats in Kelantan, while Umno won five state seats and five parliamentary seats.

However, two of Umno’s elected representatives – Jeli MP Mustapa Mohamed and Tanah Merah MP Ikmal Hisham Abd Aziz – later quit the party and joined PPBM.