The Malaysian Insight

BERSATU should dissolve and its leaders and members rejoin Umno rather than push its proposal to form a “grand coalition” between Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), said several Umno leaders.

Bersatu is, after all, an Umno splinter party and some of its current MPs are former Umno members who jumped ship after BN’s loss at the 2018 general election, they said.

Umno Supreme Council member Ahmad Shabery Cheek said it is better for Bersatu return to Umno for political stability.

“It’s better for Bersatu and Umno to merge to become one party. It is better for Bersatu to return to Umno as Semangat 46 did before,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Ahmad Shabery was referring to the party formed by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in 1988 following a major leadership crisis in Umno, but dissolved in 1996, with Tengku Razaleigh returning to Umno.

His comments are in response to the suggestion from Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin, who said PN, BN and GPS should for a grand coalition for the next elections.

Hamzah is formerly from Umno and defected to Bersatu when it was with Pakatan Harapan and won federal power in 2018.

His proposal has since been criticised as a strategy for the weaker and smaller Bersatu to leech off Umno’s strengths and to ensure its own political survival in GE15.

Though Bersatu and Umno are both in the government, tensions over seat negotiations and proposals, such as Hamzah’s, come amid the latter’s accusations of being sidelined by Bersatu, which is Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s party.

Ahmad Shabery said issues between Umno and Bersatu should be decided based on consensus with a formula that recognises Umno as the larger party with more seats.

Umno has 38 seats while Bersatu has 31 of which 15 were originally Umno’s before the defections.

“Consensus must be based on a specific formula. For example, a party with many seats should be given that position.”

Bersatu, however, cannot afford to agree with such a formula as it has fewer seats. Its leaders have instead spoken about how political cooperation should not be forged on the basis of numbers but on tolerance and mutual agreement.

Weak, dependent

To Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed, it is clear that Bersatu is a weak party and needs Umno to survive.

“The reason the grassroots reject Bersatu is because it has no support of its own. Bersatu is dependent on Umno.

“They may have won while they were with PH, but on their own, they have no support.”

Umno veteran Mustapha Yaakub said Hamzah’s proposal is to protect Bersatu’s interest.

“Umno will reject it, the grassroots will see through it and won’t see any relevance in joining yet another big coalition.

“It may sound like a good ideal to unite all parties, but it doesn’t solve real problems.

“We know Hamzah’s real purpose is to fish for Umno,” Mustapha said.

Hamzah’s purpose is also aimed at keeping the different Malay political parties on the same page, as each has different arrangements with one another, said Mustapha.

Umno is already in the BN coalition with MIC, MCA and Sabah-based PBRS.

Bersatu is part of the PN coalition with PAS, but Umno has refused to join PN.

Umno and PAS, however, are also partners in Muafakat Nasional, an unregistered entity unlike PN where the two Malay parties share common political goals for the Malay-Muslim vote.

Mustapha said Hamzah’s “grand coalition” idea is also a tactic to be used when Bersatu negotiates for seats. The party also wants to prevent its MPs who were formerly with Umno from jumping back to their old party.

“Umno wants to contest in all seats. Even the seats that Bersatu has are formerly BN-Umno’s,” Mustapha said.

Higher-level Umno leaders, such as deputy president Mohamad Hasan and vice-president Khaled Nordin, have also rejected Hamzah’s proposal.

GPS also rejects it, saying there is no need for the Sarawak coalition to become an official member of any bigger entity.

Meanwhile, PAS has taken a different stance, welcoming the proposal of a grand coalition instead.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang calls it “positive” and said time is needed to make it a reality.

“It will take some time.  Moreover, we do not know when the 15th general election will be held,” he said on Twitter. – December 16, 2020.