BERSATU Youth members believe that the prosecution of party president Muhyiddin Yassin will give the party and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition an advantage in the state elections expected in June.

They said Muhyiddin was a victim of political persecution after he was charged with four counts of abuse of power for receiving gratification totalling RM232.5 million. He was also charged with laundering RM195 million.

At the Bersatu annual general meeting (AGM) yesterday, Armada leaders said this case will attract people’s support, particularly in the next state polls.

Armada Bersatu Johor leader Muhd Shamsuddin Paijan expected the coalition to gain great support due to the pressure on Muhyiddin.

Shamsuddin, 32, also said the case against Muhyiddin was purely to tarnish the party’s image and credibility.

“Issues thrown at Muhyiddin for us do not seem to have a negative effect, (in fact they have had) a big effect on the party.

“The more pressure and charges, (the more) Malays will continue to back Bersatu and PN.

“It is clear that the investigation is not comprehensive. It was just to damage the name of the party, its leaders and other individuals,” he said at the AGM in Menara PGRM in Kuala Lumpur.

Shamsuddin also stood firmly behind Muhyiddin as party president.

“He is innocent, the charges are not strong,” he added, further claiming that no money flowed through Muhyiddin’s personal account, referring to former prime minister Najib Razak’s conviction for misappropriating SRC International funds.

“The charges (of other leaders) appear not to be selective prosecution as they received money into their personal account, but in Muhyiddin’s case it was not.

“There is no evidence of money going into his account,” he said.

The head of Armada Marang, Ahmad Sufian Daliza, also said the support of young people is growing.

“Young people can judge for themselves, they follow current developments, it could be that this incident will be an advantage for PN and Bersatu.

“The accusation against Muhyiddin has no effect on the support of the young people for PN,” he said.

He said the details of the charges at this stage did not show that the funds were deposited into Muhyiddin’s personal account, instead landing in the party’s account.

Therefore, it proves that the prosecution of the Pagoh MP is different from other political leaders, Ahmad Sufian, 29, said.

“The prosecution is more of a political charge. This is revenge based on politics.

He also said the charges against Muhyiddin have not weakened the spirit of grassroots members.

However, he added that if Muhyiddin is really guilty, the authorities should continue the prosecution against him.

“We also cannot support leaders who are guilty, unlike opposing parties whose leaders have been found guilty but still enjoy the support of members,” he said.

Govt ‘trying to weaken’ Perikatan

Batu Gajah Armada committee member, Amirul Amin Sazali, 35, said the charges against Muhyiddin were because support for Pakatan Harapan (PH) had dropped.

“The charges against Muhyiddin have no real effect but instead people who are not interested in politics are criticising the current government.

“On average, I see many (apolitical) people questioning the action, they are questioning the government. They feel this is revenge.

“PN’s momentum is indeed rising, so they are trying to weaken us,” he said.

Padang Rengas Armada information chief Mohd Nabil Shahrizan Ismail, 29, was also disappointed the Muhyiddin case, which he described as selective prosecution.

He said that every time a government changes, there will be leaders of opposing parties facing charges.

“When the government changes, there are leaders who have to be prosecuted, while in today’s government there are also leaders who have cases against them.

“However, at today’s rally we did not fuel anger. The case is in court, so let the court handle it.

“Yet we do still feel angry, sad, and confused by what had happened,” he said.

Bersatu’s AGM began on Friday while Muhyiddin was in court.

The Pagoh MP is accused of accepting bribes from four sources over the Jana Wibawa programme that was initiated when he was the prime minister.

He is also due to face new charges in Shah Alam tomorrow. – March 12, 2023.