A Tough First Year For PPBM

“Difficult” is probably an understatement to describe what Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) has gone through after a year of its inception.

Ikhwan Zulkaflee, Berita Daily

From resignation of high profile individuals, sexting scandal that rocked the party, to mass resignation of its members, PPBM has gone through some tough moments since it was established in September 2016.

And just last weekend, PPBM lost two of its women leaders; after founding and supreme council member Anina Saadudin left the party, hours before PPBM announced that its vice-president and Gopeng’s pro-tem division chief Hamidah Osman has followed suit.

Anina, who was initially named as PPBM Srikandi chief (women wing) was overlooked for the post after she was alleged to be involved in a ‘sexting scandal’ last December​,​ although she denied it.

Hamidah’s position in the party too can be considered untenable following her outburst against the PPBM echelon after she wasn’t selected as Perak PPBM chief.

Below is a brief flashback of setbacks faced by PPBM so far​:​

1. PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s right hand man Khairuddin Abu Hassan set the ball rolling after he left the party in October, two months after it was approved by the Registrar of Societies (R​O​S).

Rumours have it that he and party president Muhyiddin Yassin often did not see eye to eye on several things. He however remains an ardent supporter of Mahathir.

2. In December 2016, former senator Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor quits the Umno’s splinter party barely three months after joining, citing his intention to focus on his battle against graft.

He however later took over a small political party and tried to rebrand​ it​ as Parti Bebas Rasuah, only to leave the party too, citing lack of positive development from R​O​S.

3. In early April 2017,​ ​some 500 Rembau PPBM division members, led by​ the​ party’s Negeri Sembilan chief Mohd Anas Sudin​,​ quit​ the​ party saying that they have lost confidence in Muhyiddin’s leadership.

They also claimed that Muhyiddin and deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir practiced cronyism.

4. Later in the same month, PPBM founding member Kamarulazman Habibur Rahman, after becoming disillusion with the party’s direction, pulled a stunner and quit the party leaving all his post​s​ behind.

At that time, Kamarulazman, fondly called Cikgu Kamarul by many, was the party’s supreme council member and Telok Kemang pro-tem division chief. He was also offered to be the Negeri Sembilan party’s liaison chief before he decided to quit.

Kamarulazman said that there w​ere​ a lot of internal problems inside the party as some individuals chased positions ​within​ PPBM. He has since re-joined Umno.

5. After more calls for Muhyiddin​’s​ head, last Ma​y Mahathir came to Muhyiddin’s aid and reminded the former deputy prime minister’s detractors of his sacrifices.

“When he was sacked (from Umno), unlike others who lost their positions, Muhyiddin did not distance himself from me.

“Instead, he agreed to form PPBM and be its president.

“He also accepted my suggestion that I be the party chairman, a position higher than his.

“He has done a lot to make PPBM a success, a whole lot more than those people calling for his ouster,” Mahathir wrote in his blog.

6. The vote of confidence for Muhyiddin however did not stop 250 PPBM members from the Dungun division, including its chairman, Mastura Othman to leave the party.

They cited conflicting instructions and opinion between Mahathir and Muhyiddin that made them quit. The group then handed their forms to join Umno to the party’s acting deputy president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

7. September 2017, Anina and Hamidah​’s​ double resignations​ comes about​.

Despite all these setbacks, PPBM remains a key component ​in​ the Pakatan Harapan bloc and is seen as the Opposition’s best bet of delivering the Malay votes.

However it is quite clear that it is relying heavily on its chairman, the 92-year-old Mahathir.