UMNO should not have dragged the people of Malacca into a state election as a result of its infighting, said Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir.

In a statement, the ex-Kedah menteri besar said Umno and Perikatan Nasional (PN) should realise the impact Covid-19 had on the country after the Sabah state election last year.

“Pejuang is against Umno’s idea to hold a state election in Malacca following the dissolution of the state assembly yesterday.

“The internal problem in Umno should stay in Umno and the people must not be dragged further into an election. Today alone, there are 9,380 new Covid-19 cases nationwide and 200 of the cases came from Malacca,” said Mukhriz.

Malacca governor Mohd Ali Rustam yesterday dissolved the state assembly following a request by Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali.

State elections must now be held in the next 60 days. The legislative assembly has 28 seats.

After several days of speculation, four assemblymen announced on Monday they had lost confidence in Sulaiman and withdrew support for him.

The four are former chief minister Idris Haron (Sg Udang), Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor), Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas) and Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu).

Mukhriz then urged leaders in Umno and PN to set aside their political ambition and prioritise the safety of the public.

“Are the lives of the people to be put on the line just for the sake of retaining power? Umno and PN at both the federal and state level must stop fighting for power and personal gain and put peoples lives as their main priority.”

“They should retract their decision to dissolve the state assembly as well as the call for election,” he stressed. – October 6, 2021.