Commenting on the statement by SPDP President Tiong King Sing that Prime Minister Najib Razak did not want Teras or UPP to exist after the state polls, Mawan said Teras would not disappear into oblivion.

Earlier today, Tiong revealed that Najib had conveyed this to him in the presence of Chief Minister Adenan Satem, following a three-hour SPDP supreme council meeting.

Both Teras and UPP are pro-BN splinter parties of SPDP and SUPP respectively, and were formed in 2014 after internal crises within both parties.

Mawan went on to argue that Teras was not formed without any direction and was clear about its struggles.

“We formed the party based on our beliefs and we left SPDP because there were things we no longer believed in,” he said at a press conference today.

When asked whether Teras would continue to apply to be a BN component party, Mawan said he would try even though he did not have any locus standi after leaving the party.

Mawan gave up his presidency recently in order to be fielded as a direct candidate for BN in Pakan.

“If the other component parties see us as a problem, then we will be a problem, but we can become an asset to the BN.

“From the start, we have not seen ourselves as an Opposition party.”