Puad said Bersatu would be hard-pressed to find a suitable poster boy for the state polls if it were to go solo, while its Perikatan Nasional ally PAS had little presence in the Bornean state.

In a Facebook post, he also mocked Sabah Bersatu, saying it only consisted of party-hoppers who used to be from Umno.

“All of the Bersatu assemblymen elected during the 2020 state election were originally from Umno. They later left to join Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah en masse, leaving Bersatu in shambles.

“Unless Bersatu can find a new strategic ally, I expect it to be wiped out in the coming Sabah state election.

“That’s why a political party shouldn’t depend on ‘refugees’,” he said, in reference to party-hoppers from Umno.

Muhyiddin Yassin previously said PN and Bersatu would take part in the Sabah polls, though it has yet to decide on the number of seats to contest and whether to go solo.

The PN chairman pledged that the coalition would champion each and every demand under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, saying it would form the core of PN’s state election manifesto.

The Sabah assembly’s term expires in October 2025, which means the 17th state election must be held in December next year at the latest.