Bersatu’s fate tied to Muhyiddin’s future, say analysts

 

Several analysts say that Bersatu’s grassroots support is not strong enough for it to depend on.

PETALING JAYA: Bersatu will lose power if party president Muhyiddin Yassin resigns as prime minister.

Sivamurugan Pandian.

Several analysts agree on this, noting that the party’s grassroots support is not strong enough for it to depend on.

Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia said Bersatu would survive only as long as the prime minister was from the party. Without that advantage, it would have to look at alternatives to remain in mainstream politics, he added.

He said some ex-Umno and ex-PKR MPs now in Bersatu might want to return to their former parties but he told FMT he did not think all of them would be welcomed back.

Another analyst, Azmi Hassan, said Bersatu would lose much of its significance if Muhyiddin resigned since Cabinet positions would be given to other parties even if it were to become part of a new government.

Azmi Hassan.

He told FMT he believed the way forward for the nation would be for Bersatu to accept a new prime minister either from Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Harapan. “We have gone through some bad days,” he said, referring to the chaos in the Dewan Rakyat after July 21, when law minister Takiyuddin Hassan announced that the government had revoked the emergency ordinances.

Istana Negara subsequently said the government did not get the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and did not obey the King’s decree to table the ordinances for debate.

Azmi said PAS would follow suit if Bersatu were to accept a new prime minister from either BN or PH, giving the new government “a huge majority” to run the country and to solve the health and economic crises.

“It is one way to heal the wounds and move forward for the sake of the nation,” he said.

Kenneth Cheng.

Another analyst, Kenneth Cheng, noted that it was still not known whether Muhyiddin would resign.

However, if more ministers were to follow those who resigned yesterday, it would be a clear indication that the government did not enjoy the support of a majority of MPs, he told FMT.

“Bersatu has been surviving on political patronage and it will not have senior Cabinet positions anymore,” he said.

He added that Bersatu’s grassroots support remained poor and the party would be sidelined with its loss of the prime minister’s post and senior Cabinet posts. - FMT