The Malaysian Insight

UMNO is ready to accept Bersatu provided the smaller party does not demand the former’s seats in the next general election, said the party’s youth exco member Bastien Onn.

Such give-and-take would be proof of Bersatu’s sincerity to uphold the unity between the two parties that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been urging, he said.

Muhyiddin, during Bersatu’s annual general assembly last week, said unity could only be achieved if Bersatu is able to add value to the Perikatan Nasional coalition without disturbing Umno’s seats.

“Bersatu can add value to the PN coalition by contesting in their own seats and in seats against their former friends from Pakatan Harapan (PH),” Bastien, who is from Segamat Umno, told The Malaysian Insight.

“While we in Umno will correct mistakes we made in the seats we contested.”

Both are Malay-Muslim parties, with the smaller Bersatu a spin-off founded by Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin to fight Umno in the 2018 elections.

Muhyiddin, however, led Bersatu to part ways with PH in February to form a new government with other parties, including Umno and PAS.

Bersatu’s 31 MPs comprise 15 who defected from Umno after PH won federal power in 2018. As such, the issue of seat negotiations for elections has been a thorny point for both parties.

Bastein said Bersatu should focus on seats where the challenge from PH would be strongest, as they would know their “old friends” best.

“Bersatu would be very familiar with PH and should be their main opponent. This is its (Bersatu’s) value to the PN coalition.

“For the 15th general election, since they are a party that was once bedfellows with PH parties, they should contest against PKR, DAP, and Amanah in their popular seats.

“They can contest in these non-traditional Umno seats, as they know better who DAP, PKR, Warisan, and Amanah are,” said the Segamat Umno Youth chief.

Another Umno leader reacting to Muhyiddin’s call to Bersatu last week for unity among all Malay-Muslim political leaders is Mohd Puad Zarkashi, who said a big coalition of parties is meaningless if they are not honest with one another.

Puad, an Umno Supreme Council member, said Muhyiddin’s intentions are good but reminded him Bersatu is the smaller party.

“Umno has 3.7 million members. PAS has more than one million members. How many members does Bersatu have?

“Umno and PAS are not small parties, the number of new members continues to increase while Bersatu is facing difficulties in setting up branches.”

Numbers game

Bersatu is even smaller now as it has split between those who support Muhyiddin, while those who support Dr Mahathir have left, Puad added.

Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin also concurred on Umno’s strength, saying the party’s partnership with PAS in Muafakat Nasional is sufficient without Bersatu.

Khaled said Umno is contributing to the country’s stability by supporting Muhyiddin’s PN government for the sake of the people and the continuity of the administration.

Both Khaled and Puad are not lawmakers. Puad did not contest in 2018 while Khaled contested the Permas state seat and Pasir Gudang parliamentary seat, but lost both.

Such Umno leaders, who did not win seats, are the disgruntled ones, said Bersatu supreme council member Muhammad Faiz Naaman in response to the criticism.

“There are still some Umno leaders, especially those who have been rejected by the people in their constituencies in the last general election, who are trying to be heroes in their party.

“They can’t look beyond their party to the nation and the Malay-Muslim majority in the country.

“They are egoistic and unable to accept that now is the time to share power and tolerate diversity of choice in politics,” said Faiz.

Some Umno leaders are now criticising Bersatu even more harshly than the opposition, even though the party is part of the government, he said.

Yet, these voices never objected to working with Bersatu during the “Sheraton move” in February that led to PH’s collapse and the forming of the PN government, Faiz added.

“They attack their own government and leaders openly and frequently. What they are doing now is treachery and back-stabbing.”

He said Bersatu is not blind to Umno’s goals, which is to regain power and position for its party and leaders.

While emphasising their support for Muhyiddin and his government, various Umno leaders have also pressed for snap elections once the Covid-19 pandemic eases, as Muhyiddin holds a slim majority in Parliament, and has had two dozen motions of confidence filed against him. – December 4, 2020.