Bersatu has no soul, claims Pulai Umno man

Pulai Umno Youth information chief Md Shaqib Shahrilnizam has mounted an extraordinary attack on Perikatan Nasional coalition partner Bersatu, saying that in moving to accept non-Malays, the party has lost its soul and that its admission into Muafakat Nasional should be reconsidered.

"Bersatu is a soulless political party that floats like a waterlily without roots.

"They sacrificed their original struggle for the Malays by (moving towards) accepting the ex-PKR party-less floaters led by Azmin Ali last Sunday," said Md Shaqib in a statement today.

"Three years after (former prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad established the party to house ex-Umno members dissatisfied with former Najib Abdul Razak under a Malay-based party, Muhyiddin Yassin has completely abandoned the founding principles of Bersatu and changed it to a multi-racial party to accommodate Azmin and gang for his personal political expediency."

Bersatu has announced plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting soon primarily to amend the party constitution to attract more non-Malay and non-Bumiputera members, and also to discuss the appointment of Azmin as one of the party’s vice-presidents, said its deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

Md Shaqib said Bersatu had struggled under Mahathir to attract a membership of an estimated 100,000 Malays and has now betrayed its founding principles to cast its membership net wider to attract non-Malays and set an ambitious target of one million members.

"I doubt whether non-Malays will embrace this radical change and join Bersatu when there are time-tested multiracial parties such as PKR and DAP," said Md Shaqib.

Not pulling his punches, he said Bersatu under Muhyiddin was behaving in a callous manner and betraying Muslims and Malays by applying to join Muafakat, which he said was a coalition set up on a common charter by founder members of Umno and PAS to defend the Malays and Islam.

"This is shape-shifting by Bersatu, which was a Malay-based party when it applied to join Muafakat two weeks ago and now has become a multiracial just one weekend after it was accepted by Muafakat top leaders.

"This record of deception begs a review of the proposed inclusion of Bersatu as treacherous behaviour cannot be tolerated in Muafakat," he said.

Blasting Bersatu further, he said it was easy for the party to shift positions and abandon its principles because it is a party without grassroots and moves where the political currents take it.

Mq Shaqib said Pulai Umno Youth wanted the supreme council of Muafakat to re-evaluate the admission of Bersatu into the coalition. - Mkini