Umno's stand on the upcoming Penanti by-election continues to remain a mystery with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also refusing to shed any light.
Firstly, he said the party's political bureau which met this afternoon did not discuss the matter contrary to reports earlier that Penanti will be the top agenda."We did not discuss about that and there's no decision made," he said. And when asked what was discussed, he replied: "Why should we tell you?"
When pressed by journalists on whether the party will contest, the deputy premier merely shook his head without elaborating on whether it meant 'no comments' or 'no contest'.
Earlier, it was speculated that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who chaired the political bureau meeting, will announce the party's decision in Sabah tonight.
The political bureau’s decision could be crucial for the ruling coalition, as Najib has decided that having one by-election after another is a waste of public resources. Following this, he did not rule out the possibility of not contesting.
However, BN has been receiving mixed responses from the other component party leaders who argued that the opposition does not deserve an easy walkover.
The Penang seat fell vacant following the resignation of former deputy chief minister 1 Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin.
The state seat comes under the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency, which is the PKR fortress of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
(Source: Malaysiakini - Support Mkini - Subscribe to Mkini!)
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