KUALA LUMPUR: There is no need to discuss who Perikatan Nasional's (PN) poster boy is as it's too early to talk about strategy in facing the 16th General Election (GE-16).
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said PN had never discussed specifically their candidate for prime minister in GE16, and said there was no need to discuss the matter.
Faizal told Utusan Malaysia that Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's position as the leader of PN members of Parliament (MP) was decided collectively in a meeting involving Bersatu and Pas leadership.
"It's still too early to hold discussions because our focus right now is on the welfare of the people, who are currently burdened by the policies of the government.
"Let's look at this... Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin is the opposition leader in the Dewan Rakyat, but Muhyiddin is the leader of PN MPs. What does that mean? If we are to face the upcoming elections, who is our commander?
"That is why I don't see any other leader who should be named as our candidate for prime minister, because the decision to appoint Muhyiddin as the leader of PN MPs was a collective decision, not just by Bersatu alone," the Malay daily quoted him as saying.
It was previously reported that Pas denied naming Muhyiddin as PN's prime ministerial candidate in GE16, as there had been no decision yet by the coalition on the matter.
Pas' spiritual leader Datuk Hashim Jasin had said Bersatu cannot overlook Pas in deciding such important decisions unless it was agreed upon together.
Commenting further, Faizal said he believed that Pas, as their partner in PN, would not make decisions on their own.
He also said any decision on this matter would be made in the PN leadership meeting.
"I respect the Pas' spiritual leader's stand, but I am also confident that Pas would not make a decision on their own, because there are no parties that are strong enough to go solo.
"As such, in this matter, there is no Bersatu or Pas, there is only PN," he added.