Sanjeevan slams PN chairman over delay in appointing Negeri Sembilan chief

PETALING JAYA: A Bersatu Supreme Council member has slammed Perikatan Nasional’s failure to appoint a chairman for its chapter in Negeri Sembilan, which will hold a state election on Aug 1, labelling the delay a “grave lapse in leadership”.

R Sri Sanjeevan said Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, as the PN chairman, was responsible for ensuring that the leadership structure and election machinery in Negeri Sembilan were finalised before the state assembly was dissolved on June 5.

“The fact that no decision on such basic matters has been made, despite the state polls inching closer, proves that PN has failed to make the necessary preparations,” Sanjeevan said in a statement.

Even more worrying was that PN has failed to explain the coalition’s status following PAS’s decision to sever ties with Bersatu, he said, adding that it was no “small matter”.

He said keeping mum was not diplomacy, but a sign that PN did not have an answer.

Sanjeevan said the lack of a state chairman or meetings to coordinate election work, coupled with no explanation on PN’s status, would lead to “doubts, divisions and a trust deficit”.

“If this situation isn’t rectified immediately, PN need not wait for polling day to experience defeat.

“It is already happening, slowly and from within,” he said.

Hanifah Abu Baker of Bersatu stepped down as Negeri Sembilan PN chief earlier this year following Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to resign as the coalition’s chairman.