Bersatu’s 3Ms are torn two ways

Bersatu is officially split and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appears to be preparing to go against yet another sitting prime minister.

DATUK Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (pic) is actually standing on the edge of a political precipice.

The Kedah Mentri Besar is fighting a sitting Prime Minister for the presidency of Bersatu and he is leading a state government over which he no longer commands the numbers.

But there is an actor in every successful politician and Mukhriz has put up a brave front so far.

Earlier this week, Mukhriz, who is also Bersatu deputy president, stepped it up when he proposed that Bersatu rejoin Pakatan Harapan.

A day earlier, his father and party chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad joined Pakatan leaders in pressing the government for a full meeting of Parliament.

The timing of their action was surely not coincidental.

It was as good as declaring that the party is officially split with two of the “3Ms”, that is, Dr Mahathir and Mukhriz on one side and the third “M” – Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin – on the other side.

Senior party figures as well as businessmen with vested interests have tried to reconcile Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin, but all efforts have failed.

The May 18 sitting of Parliament will lay bare the divide within the party.

Umno leaders, who have not forgiven Dr Mahathir for bringing down their party, think he is preparing to bring down yet another prime minister.

Kok Lanas assemblyman Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad likes to joke that Dr Mahathir has brought down five prime ministers – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Datuk Seri Najib Razak before finally bringing down his own government by resigning.

But Mukhriz’s call for Bersatu to rejoin Pakatan does have its merits.

Perikatan Nasional has delivered reasonably well as a government – perhaps even better than its predecessor – but as a political entity, it is a disaster in the making.

Mukhriz described Perikatan as a marriage of convenience that is likely to last only three years.

Bersatu supreme council member Tariq Ismail said the party was part of an electoral pact and suggested that Mukhriz’s proposal to rejoin Pakatan rests on principle.

“It’s very simple, those who wish to be with Umno, please go back to Umno. We are offering a better alternative to Umno.

“As of now, let’s not talk about a change in government, but how Pakatan, Bersatu and Warisan can work meaningfully for the people, ” said Tariq.

Mukhriz, said a Putrajaya political insider, has framed it as a choice between “politics with no dignity in Perikatan or a return to being an equal partner in Pakatan”.

“It is about offering two competing visions. It also indicates that Mukhriz harbours greater ambitions if he succeeds in patching the fallout between Pakatan and Bersatu, ” said the political insider.

It is a bold, senior leadership type of proposal. But it also exposes a deep disconnect with the party and its Malay base.

“Those in the party who are aligned to Dr Mahathir may feel it is alright to work with DAP, but the rank and file distrusts DAP.

“It is already difficult for Bersatu with its limited grassroots presence to be effective on the Malay ground, what more if it is linked to DAP, ” said the political insider.

The Pakatan experience was bittersweet for them. It felt good to be the government, but Bersatu and PKR politicians were openly sniping over the prime minister issue.

Not all of them like the idea of revisiting that scenario because, as the saying goes, you cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.

Moreover, said Bersatu’s Kelantan chief Datuk Kamaruddin Md Nor, the Malay rejection of DAP caused the coalition to lose in five straight by-elections.

Kamaruddin, who is also a supreme council member, is unimpressed by Mukhriz’s proposal.

“Politics is a long journey. He is in the middle of the river, it is still a long way to the other side and he must have realised that it is easier to swim back, ” he said.

Kamaruddin said Bersatu will be negotiating from a position of weakness in Pakatan.

“Previously, we were like a young bride, but to go back like this, we are second hand. Time to move on, ” he said.

Despite the hostilities, Muhyiddin is handling Mukhriz and Dr Mahathir with kid gloves for now.

He has left Kedah alone, allowing Mukhriz to continue to lead the state.

The Kedah government has been hanging in a delicate balance and could fall anytime.

All it needs is for Dr Robert Ling and Azman Nasrudin, two PKR assemblymen aligned to Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, to cross the floor.

Insiders claimed that when the Pakatan Federal Government collapsed in February, Mukhriz had asked Azmin for help in order to retain control over Kedah.

Muhyiddin has also not disturbed Mukhriz’s position as chairman of the Kedah Regional Development Authority (Keda) and the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada).

It is a strategic move on the part of Muhyiddin. He does not want to give Mukhriz the opportunity to play victim. But all that will change if Muhyiddin retains the Bersatu presidency.

However, if Mukhriz somehow manages to become the new president, then the government could change again.

It is a do-or-die for both Muhyiddin and Mukhriz and it is only starting to heat up. - Star