The Malaysian Insight

BERSATU is considering disciplinary action against supreme council member Dr Rais Hussin for his recent remarks about the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition losing to the Umno-PAS alliance if a snap election were to be called.

Party chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad said members who made statements that tarnished the party’s image will be investigated by its disciplinary committee.

“Members, especially those who hold positions in the party, must be careful when making public statements,” Dr Mahathir told reporters after chairing a Bersatu supreme council meeting today.

“If such statements tarnish the party’s image, action will be taken.

“They can offer their analysis but statements such as that PH will lose the next general election, that brings down the party’s image,” Dr Mahathir said.

When asked whether he was referring to Rais, who had recently made a similar statement, Dr Mahathir said: “Maybe.”

Yesterday, Rais had warned that should an election be held now, the pact would lose.

“We have to start listening to the people, we are now doing what Barisan Nasional used to do, we are failing,” the former chief strategist said at a Post GE14 by-elections: Implications for GE15 panel session in Gombak, Selangor, yesterday.

The Bersatu supreme council member warned that if a snap election were to be held now, the Umno-PAS pact would easily sweep the votes.

“Given the current sentiment, if we were to have an election tomorrow, the new Umno-PAS pact would win, hands down.”

He reminded his coalition colleagues that having power alone was not enough and that it was crucial to address pertinent issues.

These issues, Rais said, included cost of living, quality of life, job creation and unemployment, affordable housing and healthcare.

The government, he said, was misplacing its priorities by highlighting things such as the flying car and third national car projects, and creating jobs through Indonesia’s motorcycle ride-hailing company Go-Jek. – August 29, 2019.