FORMER Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leader A Kadir Jasin said that former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is reaping what he sowed after betraying his former allies, Pakatan Harapan.
“When he was haranguing the Bersatu supreme council to leave Pakatan on Feb 23 last year, Muhyiddin promised them that the party not only will be leading the Perikatan Nasional Government but also take over Umno’s role as the number one Malay political party.
“However, his political wet dreams turned into nightmares very quickly after he appointed Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as his deputy on July 7.
“Muhyiddin thought Ismail Sabri’s appointment would pacify the hungry wolves in Umno, led by the ‘court cluster’, and get their support. Alas, he was wrong. They turned against him by withdrawing their support,” he said, in a Facebook post.
On Aug 16, Muhyiddin quit as prime minister after 15 Umno MPs, led by Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former chief Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, withdrew their support from the Perikatan Nasional Government.
Following his departure, Ismail Sabri and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim were seen as favourites to succeed Muhyiddin. Eventually, the Umno leader managed to garner majority support and took oath as the new prime minister at the Istana Negara yesterday.
Umno, PKR turncoats in trouble?
However, the bad blood between Bersatu and Umno seems to be unabating. While Muhyiddin and fellow Bersatu leader Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali stressed that Ismail Sabri is leading Perikatan, Umno leaders such as secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan and supreme council member Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan dismissed it.
On the recent turn of events, Kadir Jasin said that due to Muhyiddin’s mistakes, Umno is now back in power despite being rejected in the last general election.
He added that Bersatu is also at risk of being “swallowed up” by Umno, with the possibility of Perikatan being disbanded so that Barisan Nasional (BN) could take charge again.
“The Umno and PKR turncoats, who joined Bersatu for money and power, now find themselves playing second fiddle to their Umno overlords.
“But those ex-Umno leaders can always consider returning their old party but the PKR defectors may no be so welcomed in their old roost.
“In any case, history is seldom kind to the loser even when he had fought a gallant battle. In Muhyiddin’s case, he didn’t fight any battle. Instead, he came to power by betraying the people who voted for him and the Pakatan in the last general election,” Kadir concluded. – Aug 22, 2021.