This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 9, 2020 - March 15, 2020

SOMEONE posted this on Facebook: “Apa kita panggil kalau parti Bersatu ada 2 blok? Berdua.” That is a nice way to describe the party today. Bersatu is Malay for unity or oneness. But it is a party divided, with no oneness. The president, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, is on one side with what is known as Perikatan Nasional (PN) while its chairman, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is with Pakatan Harapan (PH) on the other side of the political divide, at odds with each other.

While the chairman’s faction may still be reeling from having lost power in the previous week’s political coup, things are not rosy for Muhyiddin’s faction either.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia supreme council member Datuk A Kadir Jasin, a known Mahathir ally, sums it up with a rhyme of sorts, as Malay Mail Online puts it, to describe how poetic justice has been served to PH’s defectors, mostly from Bersatu.

Sharing a Malaysiakini report about the rifts in Melaka (which eventually led to Barisan Nasional forming the state government without Bersatu), Kadir highlighted how strategies can go awry when treachery comes into play.

Rubbing it in, he wrote, “It seems that when they exited Pakatan Harapan, Bersatu would become stronger. They sang that if we are divided, we fall, united we are strong.” Kadir was obviously referring to remarks by the Muhyiddin camp calling for people from the Mahathir side to join them.

The veteran newsman went on, “But their own friends backstabbed them and in the end, they were robbed. Johor is lost, Melaka is lost, Selangor is lost. It is Umno and PH that won.”

Apart from Melaka, Bersatu is also out of the Selangor government, which continues to be run by PH — although four of its state assemblymen have now declared their support for PH — while in Johor, Bersatu has lost the menteri besar’s post, which it held when it was in PH, to an Umno man.

And at the federal level, Muhyiddin is having problems dealing with his allies in PN (see accompanying story).

According to Ilham Centre CEO Azlan Zainal, being appointed prime minister would give Muhyiddin an advantage to entrench his position in Bersatu. This is important as it would be strange to have a prime minister who does not have the full backing of his own party.

And Kadir has always maintained that it was not the party’s decision to name Muhyiddin as its candidate for the prime minister’s post.

In Azlan’s view, it will all boil down to the party’s supreme council election, which will be held during Bersatu’s annual general meeting scheduled for June 25 to 28. Muhyiddin won the presidency uncontested. So, too, did Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir for the deputy president’s post.

The fight is, therefore, for supreme council positions and according to Azlan, “it will be interesting to see [who] the winners [are] — whether it’s Muhyiddin’s or Tun Mahathir’s supporters”.

In fact, it will be interesting to see how the president deals with the chairman and his men.

Supporters of the president and chairman are contesting in the ongoing branch-level elections nationwide and at the divisional level next month.

Nonetheless, the Bersatu AGM in June (if it is held as scheduled) will be keenly followed within and without the political fraternity.

As of now, Bersatu is not in the best of health. And despite Muhyiddin already being made prime minister, the political situation is still fluid, even volatile.

The country is still hurting due to the recent political turmoil. As many see it, there are a lot of uncertainties as a result of the February coup.

A seasoned observer of Malaysian, in particular Malay, politics said, “The narrative of the fall [of the previous government] should move away from what happened in the King’s court.

“Mahathir resigned because Pakatan Harapan no longer commanded the majority in parliament, which was the right thing to do.

“The fall of the government was triggered by Azmin and Muhyiddin exiting Pakatan Harapan. No party can stand if 36 MPs jumped off. And to do it when the nation is facing the Covid-19 outbreak is sheer irresponsibility. What kind of politics is this if not of greed for power? And for the wakil rakyat (or MPs), it is a betrayal of the rakyat.”

To Ilham Centre head of research Dr Mohd Yusri Ibrahim, the government we have now is lawful, but devoid of morals and ethics.

Law expert Datuk Shad Saleem Faruqi echoes that opinion. He was quoted by Malay Mail Online as saying that the formation of a back-door government through party-hopping or political realignment is not unconstitutional “but it is certainly an immoral one”.

Yusri says further, “This is an act of betrayal and an abuse of the people’s mandate. It is against democratic values, which we hold highly. The formation of a government in such an undemocratic manner must be condemned by people from all walks of life.

“It must not be allowed to be repeated no matter who or what the parties are. We must send a clear message to the younger generation that all quarters must respect the mandate of the rakyat and the spirit of democracy.

“What kind of nation do we want the next generation to inherit if these ugly practices become our culture?”

I couldn’t agree more. And if I may add, if a government can be formed through direct negotiations among politicians, why bother with elections in the first place? 

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