The Pengerang Bersatu chief has made the extraordinary move of asking other parties to step aside in the rural areas of Johor to allow his party to have a straight fight with Umno in the upcoming state election.

Mohd Faizal Asmar's party, which left the Pakatan Harapan coalition in 2020 leading to its government's downfall, is now asking his former allies to allow Bersatu to carry the fight in the rural Malay heartland.

"Recently, Johor Bersatu leader Muhyiddin Yassin...