INITIALLY, it was the six MPs from Bersatu who pledged their loyalty to the government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Whether these MPs will be allowed to keep their seats remains to be seen in light of the recent amendments to the party’s constitution.
Now, we hear more Bersatu leaders at the level of divisions and others might follow suit.
PKR’s party veteran and Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim commented that the party should not take in “rubbish” from other parties particularly the opposition.
Of course, Hassan missed the fact that most of the Malay and non-Malay members in Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition are from the component parties of Barisan Nasional (BN).
In fact, PKR like Bersatu is a breakaway faction of UMNO. Given this, there is no qualitative distinction between PKR and Bersatu. In other words, members with the same DNA.
The fact that six MPs have discarded Bersatu to join forces with PKR and more to follow speaks volumes about the character and integrity of the Bersatu members. Surely, when Bersatu went into the ranks of the opposition with PAS, there was an expectation of material rewards.
The question is why these members joined Bersatu in the first place. Perhaps in the beginning there was an expectation that Bersatu would be part of the ruling coalition. Unfortunately, this did not happen having thrust the party into opposition.
Unlike Bersatu, not even one ordinary PAS member has left to support the Madani government. This speaks well of the ideology and political commitment of PAS members.
PAS knows that it is gaining popularity in the ranks of Malay Muslims. It is the most organised and powerful Malay Muslim political party in the country.
Moreover, it is shedding its regional ambitions to become a party to be reckoned with at the national level.
Hassan who is quite critical of PKR might think Bersatu members joining the party might politically “pollute” the party. Since PKR is composed of former UMNO member including Anwar, the question of polluting the party doesn’t arise.
As one diehard UMNO leader pointed out the PKR and DAP never pondered the consequences of collaborating with former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad once. What happened in the aftermath was an unmitigated political disaster.
The six Bersatu MPs who crossed over to support Anwar justified their decisions on the grounds of obtaining constituency allocations.
Needless to say, other promises made to effect their decisions were not disclosed but widely speculated.
I wonder why the Bersatu MPs and others who might follow place some weight on the political relevance of PH-led government and PKR in particular especially when Malay support is at rock bottom.
Is it because short-term material gains outweighed long term political goals? Or, is it because of the political and ideological weakness of the party to withstand the temptations of power and materialism?
Bersatu leaders must address the internal problems before it is too late.
The Madani government without a Malay political base, might engage in unhealthy pursuits to lengthen its political longevity. – March 16, 2024
Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the Urimai (United Rights of Malaysian Party) Interim Council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main photo credit: NST
