Three signs to mark the end of Bersatu
Prof Tajuddin Rasdi30 May 2022 07:20pm
Bersatu was registered in 2017.
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SHAH ALAM - In this article I will highlight light three most significant signs that mark the very end of Bersatu as a political party.
The first signal is the resignation of Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin as a minister and a Bersatu member as well as her announcement to be in the newly formed Parti Bangsa Malaysia.
The second signal is the recent statement by PAS leader, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang that Umno and Pas still maintain a good relationship.
The third signal was the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yakob that he would let Zuraida keep her post...for now.
Before explaining my three signals let me write a preempted eulogy for Bersatu as a political party.
Bersatu was formed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, two former Umno members who were no longer welcomed or accepted by that party. Both left or were forced to leave due to their asking Datuk Seri Najib Razak to resign over the 1MDB affair.
Were Tun M and Muhyiddin doing a favour for Malaysia by taking on the leader of Umno? Certainly not. Muhyiddin was eyeing the top post as he was next in line.
Tun M may want to save his legacy and make way for his son Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir for the premiership post. These two reasons are common knowledge.
When Bersatu was formed, the Pakatan Harapan had invited them to join in the fight against the BN. The strategy was that Bersatu would pull enough Malay voters from Umno. The plan succeeded even though Bersatu only won eleven seats in Parliament because of the generous heart of Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Malaysians in general, Tun M was given the second chance to be PM.
Bersatu enjoyed a strong political presence with Tun M as the prime minister. When the Sheraton Move destroyed PH, Muhyiddin became PM.
Bersatu further enjoyed a strong political presence and began to influence Pas to its side by giving Pas leaders lucrative posts that Malaysians thought were inappropriate.
When Muhyiddin was about to lose political power, he initiated the Emergency that many thought was unnecessary. It was to be proven so when Pas Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, a Pas strongman said in Parliament that the Emergency was no longer relevant as it was never debated and therefore annulled.
When Umno court clusters engineered a coup de tat, Umno was back in power with Bersatu but no longer having the most powerful office. When Umno sealed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PH, Bersatu lost its threatening power over Umno.
When Umno initiated their two state elections in Melaka and Johor, Bersatu openly declared war on Umno and it lost embarrassingly but its vote count was impressive with the low voter turnout.
Bersatu also did badly in the Johor election but its vote count was still impressive.
Truth be told, Bersatu had always depended on another political party as it does not have any grassroots following nor does it has any significant election machinery.
In GE14, Bersatu depended entirely on the PH supporters and machinery. In the two state elections, Bersatu depended entirely on Pas supporters and machinery. Going into GE15, Bersatu will again depend on Pas to deliver the Malay votes and Gerakan to deliver the non-Malay votes. Sabah and Sarawak politics are now turned inwards to their own indigenous parties and no longer cover Peninsula political influence.
Bersatu has reached its end despite its fighting presence in the two-state elections.
Firstly, Zuraida has announced that she will be joining PBM, signalling an exodus of the Sheraton Movers who will in due time also do the same.
The Sheraton Movers will never be accepted into Umno or PH and so PBM was created to be a ‘Malaysian’ party. Good luck convincing that to the voters.
Bersatu members who had jumped ship from Umno would return to Umno or join the PBM.
Secondly, the Pas leader who has been speaking about strong support for Bersatu in the two-state elections is now saying that the relationship between Pas and Umno in Muafakat Nasional is still intact. After his own harsh and arrogant words and clear enmity with Umno in the two-state elections, Hadi now is licking his own spiteful words and wants to curry favour with Umno. If PAS leaves Bersatu, it will cause Bersatu to die a natural death in GE15 as it can no longer be accepted into the BN coalition.
Being a rival for Malay votes, the field is already crowded with PAS and UMNO.
Thirdly, when Ismail Sabri announced that he will let Zuraida serve as a minister, Bersatu was in panic mode.
Many of its MPs and strong men have reminded the PM that Zuraida’s post belongs to Bersatu but Ismail is retaining her position. What does this mean? It may mean that the Sheraton Movers who are all Bersatu members may have struck a deal that PBM will be the BN weapon to pull in votes from non-Malays and some Malays.
BN already has MCA and MIC but PBM is multiracial and may even be able to drown both MCA and MIC as the new kid in town.
Whatever the strategy, no one needs Bersatu. Pas does not need Bersatu. Umno never wanted Bersatu. PH detests Bersatu.
Despite Datuk Saifuddin Nasution’s warning that traitors will be punished by the voters, well, PBM who will probably enjoy the BN’s machinery may very well bring back the Sheraton Movers as Cabinet members while Saifuddin and gang seats in the opposition bloc if PH does not inspire confidence among Malaysians to come out to vote.
Thus, with these three reasons, I predict that Bersatu’s life will end. So, goodbye Bersatu. Many would not really say it was nice knowing you.
Prof Tajuddin Rasdi teaches architecture at UCSI University. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.
