Instead, he said, the statement by the Bersatu secretary-general appeared to be aimed at certain individuals who had allegedly ignored explanations provided by party leaders and misrepresented decisions made by the PN Supreme Council.

“There are also those who have accused and slandered Bersatu with serious allegations, inappropriately telling it to ‘get lost’, and claiming that the party had acted dishonestly in fulfilling its promises.

“However, the remarks were not referring to PAS,” he told FMT.

Earlier today, PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari suggested that his party and Bersatu contest future elections separately following a dispute over the strength of their respective party machinery within PN.

Fadhli said there was little hope for harmonious cooperation if remarks that Bersatu lacked an effective grassroots machinery were easily dismissed.

He was referring to a viral video of a ceramah by Azmin in Melaka last night, in which the Bersatu secretary-general pushed back against claims that his party lacked grassroots machinery and urged critics to “open their eyes and ears”.

Fadhli said there was nothing wrong with a party lacking a strong grassroots machinery, especially if it was still relatively new.

However, he said, the real problem arose when such weaknesses were not acknowledged, leading to political decisions being made based on an inflated sense of strength that did not reflect reality.

On May 22, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang claimed that Bersatu demanded many seats in previous state elections and by-elections, despite having insufficient machinery on the ground.

According to Hadi, PAS had often been forced to deploy its own machinery to support coalition efforts in the various polls.