University of Tasmania’s James Chin said Bersatu and its party president Muhyiddin Yassin have been losing support, particularly to its more dominant Perikatan Nasional ally, PAS.
He said Bersatu needs to do everything it can to remain relevant to the masses.
“Even though they may not like it, they don’t have a choice because PAS is already attending the rally. Bersatu and Muhyiddin are losing ground, so they need all the publicity they can get,” Chin told FMT.
While Muhyiddin may not be pleased with the coalition’s component parties and his own party members’ attendance at the rally, Chin said that the PN chairman had little choice in the matter.
“What can Muhyiddin do if PAS wants to support Najib? Muhyiddin doesn’t have the power, his party is so small compared with PAS.
“He cannot tell PAS to stop supporting (Najib). In fact, even if he does, PAS will just ignore him.”
The rally will coincide with Najib’s application to the Court of Appeal for leave to adduce fresh evidence in his appeal to be placed under house arrest, as purportedly decreed by former Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Najib claims the former king had during his reign issued a supplementary order allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest, which the Federal Territories’ Pardons Board omitted to announce on Feb 2.
Last Saturday, Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said party leaders and members were free to join the rally outside the Palace of Justice in the spirit of “national reconciliation”.
Wanita Bersatu chief Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said she and several other Bersatu leaders were expected to be present at the event.
Bersatu was co-founded by Muhyiddin after he was sacked as Umno deputy president in 2016 following his harsh criticism of then party president and prime minister Najib, particularly over the 1MDB scandal.
However, both Chin and Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia dismissed the “national reconciliation” claim as mere rhetoric. They said participation at the rally was unlikely to improve ties between the country’s three major Malay-Muslim parties—Umno, PAS and Bersatu.
Azmil said PN leaders were merely trying to sow discord within the unity government with Najib’s house arrest appeal as a pretext.
He also believes Muhyiddin’s real objective is to undermine the unity government.
“But I doubt Najib can bring all the Malay parties together. He’s just a means to an end, which is to destabilise the current government,” said Azmil. - FMT
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