CHERAS – Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin will remain as president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, even after being charged in court with multiple counts of corruption and money laundering.
Muhyiddin made this announcement at the party’s annual assembly on Sunday, according to local media.
This comes a day after the Bersatu leadership rallied around its president, urging him to remain in command of the party.
Bersatu’s former information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan said the party’s leadership was unanimous in its stand despite the former premier’s court cases.
“We all agree that Muhyiddin does not need to step down just because he has been charged. We want him to remain as president. We will bring this view to the Bersatu supreme council and Perikatan Nasional (PN) top leadership,” he said.
Muhyiddin is the chairman of PN, which also comprises Parti Islam SeMalaysia, Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia and Sabah Progressive Party.
Wan Saiful was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Bersatu annual general assembly at Menara PGRM on Saturday.
The Tasek Gelugor MP himself had relinquished his position as party information chief after he was charged with corruption in February.
Earlier, Muhyiddin made a surprise appearance at the event to shouts of “long live Abah!” and “takbir” from hundreds of Bersatu youth.
Dressed in a white baju melayu with red samping, the man who is known as “Abah” (father) by his supporters, was welcomed into the halls where the party’s youth wings – Srikandi Muda (women) and Armada (men) – were holding their gatherings.
Besides Wan Saiful, Muhyiddin was accompanied by Bersatu treasurer-general Mohd Salleh Bajuri.
Muhyiddin, who attended as an observer, sat with the audience and spent half an hour each at both halls but declined to speak to the media.
Highly energised by his presence, the delegates declared that they would defend their leader at all costs.
“Everyone predicted that Bersatu would be dead after 2018 but we returned stronger, and in 2022, we managed to win a record number of seats.
“We are not going down. We will never surrender. Abah, stay strong!” said an Armada delegate.
Muhyiddin said he now has trouble sleeping at night, adding that the situation emerges whenever he reads the news about his charges.
“It is difficult to sleep at night. My wife also finds it difficult to sleep, and my children are also constantly worried. Reading news (about the charges) made things worse as I learnt that I would be jailed for over 20 years if found guilty,” he was quoted as saying in The Star, which attributed an unnamed news portal on Sunday.
On Friday, Muhyiddin was charged at the Sessions Court with four counts of abuse of power involving a total of RM232.5 million (S$70 million) in gratification and two counts of money laundering involving RM195 million.
The Pagoh MP is the third Bersatu leader to face charges, after Wan Saiful and Segambut division deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
