Bersatu’s turmoil can no longer be resolved behind closed doors, says analyst

 Syaza Shukri says the call by Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee for Muhyiddin Yassin to resign as president has heightened tension in the party.

Analyst Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri suggested that Bersatu convene an extraordinary general assembly to resolve the turmoil in a democratic manner.

PETALING JAYA:

 Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee’s call for Muhyiddin Yassin to step down as president means that the party’s internal crisis can no longer be resolved behind closed doors, an analyst says.

Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said Muhyiddin must immediately resolve the conflict to avoid the perception that he is clinging on to the post.

“There is heightened tension in Bersatu, and I am not sure how long more Muhyiddin can last. On paper he can, but his influence is waning.

“It is now a matter of whether members have confidence in him,” she told FMT.

On Tuesday, Kiandee became the first senior leader to call for the former prime minister to relinquish the top post in Bersatu, accusing him of failing to effectively handle the party’s internal crisis.

The Sabah Bersatu chief also said that Muhyiddin was seen as exerting his influence to defend his position as Bersatu president while pursuing a personal agenda to return as prime minister one day. He said this included “blocking Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin from leading Bersatu in the future”.

Azmi Hassan, a fellow at the National Council of Professors, said Kiandee’s outburst could see Muhyiddin come under pressure from other senior leaders and deepen the crisis in the party.

He said that Kiandee’s remarks were even more telling given his seniority in the party.

“When a vice-president calls on Muhyiddin to resign, it could influence other leaders to make similar calls,” he said.

Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri of Global Asia Consulting however described Kiandee’s remarks as populist.

“When Bersatu was wiped out at the Sabah polls, did Kiandee step down? Or is it easier to point fingers at the president as if it was the sole responsibility of Muhyiddin?”

He also suggested that the party convene an extraordinary general assembly to resolve the turmoil in a democratic manner.

“Let the grassroots decide, instead of allowing individual rhetoric to decide (on Muhyiddin’s future).”

Bersatu has been fraught with infighting for months amid a leadership tussle between Muhyiddin and Hamzah, the opposition leader.

The turmoil led to calls from both factions for the leaders to step down from their posts, as well as disciplinary action against three MPs, including Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Saifuddin Abdullah, who were sacked.

Calls for Muhyiddin to quit as Bersatu president grew stronger amid a separate dispute with PAS over the Perikatan Nasional chairmanship, which he relinquished on Jan 1. - FMT