Muhyiddin S Ex Aide Reveals Pn Letter Offering Bn Dpm Post After Ge15

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A former aide to Muhyiddin Yassin has revealed a letter which he claims proves that Perikatan Nasional had offered BN the post of deputy prime minister during negotiations to form a federal government after the 15th general election.
Marzuki Mohamad, who served as Muhyiddin’s political secretary during the PN chairperson’s tenure as the eighth prime minister, said the letter rebutted claims made by Rafizi Ramli that the opposition coalition had made no such offer and had belittled BN during the post-election talks.
“In the letter, PN not only offered the DPM position but was also prepared to allocate cabinet positions and other government posts as needed,” Marzuki said in a Facebook posting yesterday.
“I watched a podcast video where Rafizi claimed that PN didn’t make any offer to BN during the negotiations to form a government after GE15.
“He also claimed Muhyiddin looked down on Umno. He said he had ‘insiders’ in the PN-BN negotiations at the St Regis Hotel on Nov 23, 2022.
“I don’t know if he truly had insiders, but brother Rafizi, you lied,” said Marzuki.
The post-GE15 negotiations to form a government followed a hung parliament, which saw Pakatan Harapan emerge as the largest bloc with 82 seats, short of the 112 needed for a simple majority.
Bersatu president Muhyiddin, at the time, claimed to have 115 MPs on his side, but the palace did not accept this in subsequent audiences with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who ultimately proposed the formation of a unity government.
Anwar was sworn in as the 10th prime minister on Nov 24, 2022, after almost a week of political deadlock.
Under the arrangement, Anwar leads a coalition government with BN as Harapan’s main partner, while Sarawak’s GPS and Sabah’s GRS, as well as Warisan, were accepted into the fold.
‘I was there’
Meanwhile, Marzuki asserted that he was directly involved in the preceding PN-BN talks.
ADS“I wasn’t just an insider; my whole body was in the negotiations from start to end,” he said, adding that discussions were held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere.
“At no point did Muhyiddin belittle Umno. After all, the people who came were his friends from Umno and BN. They spoke like friends.
“Second, any negotiation involves offers. The BN delegation came with a proposal that BN MPs would give their support en bloc to Muhyiddin as prime minister.
“In return, PN offered the deputy prime minister’s post to BN, cabinet positions based on the number of parliamentary seats won, and several other items,” he said.
Marzuki added that it had not been decided who from BN would be the deputy prime minister candidate, as it was to be discussed between the new prime minister and the BN leadership.
At the end of the negotiation, he said the BN delegation, led by its deputy chairperson Mohamad Hasan, had requested that the offers be put in writing to be presented at the Umno supreme council meeting later that evening.
“After the meeting ended, I sat with then-PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin and a few others to prepare a letter detailing PN’s offer to BN.
“The letter was addressed to the BN deputy chairperson and hand-delivered on the same day.
“At the time, I didn’t see any reason for Umno to reject the offer, as the terms were reasonable and had been broadly agreed upon in the meeting. It just needed to be confirmed by the supreme council,” said Marzuki.
‘I had to speak up’
He said, however, he was uncertain whether the letter was ever discussed during the Umno leaders’ meeting that night.
“When I got home late that night, I was shocked to read a press statement from the Umno secretary-general saying the supreme council had decided to reject cooperation with PN and instead work with Harapan,” he said.
“I was stunned. But what else could I do? It was already late, the decision had been made, I was tired - so I just went to sleep, hoping tomorrow would be better.”
Marzuki stressed that while he does not usually reveal details of political negotiations, he felt compelled to speak up.
“I’m not an important person, but I happened to be involved in many political negotiations. I don’t like revealing the details, but if lies and slander are being spread, I feel it’s my responsibility to tell the truth.
“Rafizi, people can be lied to, but they don’t deal with lies. So when you lie, it becomes my duty to speak the truth,” he said.
Rafizi had made the claims in the latest episode of his Yang Berhenti Menteri podcast, discussing current and past issues since his resignation as economy minister. - Mkini

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