Analyst hopes Muhyiddin will make amends with Dr M

Analyst Awang Azman Pawi warns of a possible split in PPBM as Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin clash over the party’s secretary-general.

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst says it is vital that PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin brings Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the discussion table to avoid a split in the party.

This comes after the sacking of Mahathir’s ally Marzuki Yahya as secretary-general. According to party sources, Muhyiddin is likely to appoint Hamzah Zainuddin, who is home minister as Marzuki’s replacement.

Questions have been raised over a possible conflict of interest as the Registrar of Societies (RoS) comes under the home ministry’s jurisdiction.

Mahathir, who maintains he remains PPBM chairman, has disputed Marzuki’s dismissal telling Muhyiddin in a letter that the president must first discuss major party decisions with the chairman.

Speaking to FMT, Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Pawi said if Muhyiddin fails to engage Mahathir now, PPBM’s situation would become more “shaky” than it already is.

“If PPBM splits, it’s power to negotiate with other parties like Umno will decrease,” he said, adding this was something the other Malay-based parties would want.

But both Muhyiddin and Mahathir are likely to prefer avoiding a split in PPBM as it will surely mean Umno becoming the dominant party once more.

Awang Azman Pawi

Awang Azman said it was understandable that Muhyiddin would want to appoint Hamzah as PPBM secretary-general: the home minister is a strategic position and he would not want PPBM to be disrupted by RoS.

The best way for Muhyiddin to prevent a split, he said, would be to negotiate with Mahathir.

“Be humble and negotiate with Mahathir, he still has a lot of influence in the country’s politics, both directly and indirectly.”

Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Kamarul Zaman Yusoff said RoS may not be the best avenue to resolve any dispute in the party if Hamzah is appointed secretary-general.

“It can be seen as unfair.”

But, he said, legally speaking, there is nothing wrong with Muhyiddin sacking Marzuki and appointing anyone to replace him.

He added with the majority of the party’s Supreme Council aligned to him, the interpretation of the PPBM constitution in resolving disputes, which comes under the Supreme Council, would favour Muhyiddin.

“If anyone within the party wants to bring the matter to court, there is no way they can win as the party’s constitution clearly says that the decision of the Supreme Council in interpreting the party’s constitution is not subject to any review.”

Kamarul says he believes the best way to resolve the issues within PPBM is through party elections.

“I think Muhyiddin wants to avoid an all-out war with Mahathir, especially when he has to focus on Covid-19.

“It is quite unlikely for the matter to escalate as the law sides with Muhyiddin, but of course it can be turned into an election issue by Mahathir’s camp to oust Muhyiddin,” he said. - FMT