Not impossible for Bersatu to split if MPs keep pledging support for PM – Analyst

SHAH ALAM - It is not impossible for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) to disintegrate if the party cannot control its Members of Parliament from supporting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the unity government.

Political sociologist Professor Datuk Dr P Sivamurugan stated that the supports not only had implications for Bersatu but also for the entire Perikatan Nasional (PN).

"It will impact Pas' acceptance of the party and raises questions whether Bersatu needs to expedite constitutional amendments to control the issue from spreading further.

"When there is only one top position, competition in the elections is inevitable. Some may express views as if they failed to block the progress of some individuals within the party.

"The five Bersatu MPs who expressed their support earlier already showing a large number, not to mention the additional seven to eight members who follow the same path.

“It is not impossible that someone wants to protest and that cannot be avoided in any party," he told Sinar Premium on Monday.

Sivamurugan, however, insisted that the support was not symbolic of Bersatu's rift, but it was part of the political game.

"It's a normal political game where when the government rules differently from groups from the opposition party, there will be people who come out due to various factors such as the need for service funds or allocations to develop areas," he explained.

In the context of Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal who announced his support for Anwar, he revealed that the support would be given if the Bukit Gantang MP gets the necessary funds to develop his parliamentary constituency.

"So, maybe seven or eight individuals have the same signal but for Bersatu, this situation gives a bad image and questions whether there is an internal leadership crisis that leads to so many people leaving," he said.

In addition, Sivamurugan believed that if the additional support could increase the strength of the unity government which currently had a majority of 152, it could also signalled that acceptance of the leadership and political legitimacy increased.

"If the support increases, it gives a moral legitimacy to the 'concrete roof' where if the opposition calls this Madani Government as 'a hole in the government roof', Anwar says that strengthening is done through other participation.

"It shows as if the government now has a mandate of more than two-thirds majority for the first time since 2008.

"This is because from 2008 until 2022, political parties only got a slim majority or enough to establish a government," he said.