Bersatu man moots reunion with Harapan in face of resurgent Umno

 

Johor Bahru Bersatu deputy chief Razrul Anwar Rusli mooted an idea for his party to reunite with Pakatan Harapan in the face of a resurgent Umno in the Johor polls.

He suggested that they form a coalition called Muafakat Rakyat Johor and also rope in other parties including Pejuang, Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) and Warisan.

"The Harapan formula was successful in the 14th general election.

"The unity among the parties and those whose struggles are aligned are the keys to success in the Johor polls," Razrul (above) said.

The proposal would essentially reset the Sheraton Move which saw Bersatu quitting Harapan, leading to the collapse of the Harapan-Warisan coalition government.

Bersatu leaders who disagreed with the move went on to form Pejuang and Muda.

The proposal to reverse Sheraton Move came amid Bersatu's new bedfellow now attempting to eliminate the party.

Bersatu and a group of PKR rebels left Harapan in February 2020 to form a new Perikatan Nasional (PN)-BN-GPS-PBS federal government.

Bersatu is the anchor in PN, with PAS, Gerakan, Star and SAPP as partners while Umno is the anchor in BN with MCA, MIC and PBRS as partners. GPS is Sarawak-based while PBS is Sabah-based.

The new alliance also replaced Harapan in several states, including Johor.

However, Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad last Saturday announced the dissolution of the Johor state assembly.

His party Umno plans to contest against PN and Harapan in a bid to form a new Johor government on its own.

Razrul stressed that a united front was needed to face Umno and BN.

"The parties that are against BN must come under one banner. If not, our efforts would be for nothing as Umno will win," he said.

Bersatu under threat

Former Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was sacked from the party, previously warned that Umno will attempt to destroy Bersatu if they got together.

Both parties target the Malay heartland as their support base.

However, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was spooked by Bersatu's struggle to gain Malay support while being allied with DAP, particularly after its devastating defeat in the Tanjung Piai by-election in 2019.

Muhyiddin eventually pulled the trigger and severed Bersatu's ties with its Harapan allies PKR, DAP and Amanah.

Forming a new alliance with the then opposition, Muhyiddin was sworn in as the new prime minister on March 1, 2020.

However, his tenure was short-lived, lasting only 17 months, after Umno mounted a coup against him. He was replaced by Umno's Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the new prime minister. 

For now, Bersatu remains part of the Umno-led coalition government in Putrajaya but Umno has not been shy about its intentions to eliminate Bersatu in the 15th general election.

Buoyed by BN's landslide victory in the Malacca polls last November, the Johor polls is seen as an attempt to build on that momentum before heading into the general election due in 2023. - Mkini