PETALING JAYA: Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) has dismissed claims that it could weaken Barisan Nasional (BN) if it were to join the coalition, insisting it wasn’t a weak party, based on the number of members it has.
PBM information chief Zakaria Abdul Hamid said the party has some 200,000 members in 162 divisions nationwide.
He added that being a multiracial party, PBM would also be able to woo non-Malay voters in the next general election (GE15).
“We are a multiracial party which is a perfect fit for BN, especially in a mixed constituency.
“There is no multiracial party in BN,” he told FMT. The four BN component parties currently are Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), which represents the Kadazan-Dusun-Murut community.
Zakaria was responding to comments from two analysts who said that the relatively new party would not add value to BN.
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara and Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir said the Zuraida Kamaruddin-led party would instead weaken BN’s position because of its small membership and questionable influence.
He added that there was also no evidence PBM leaders will be able to retain the seats they currently occupy because they won them on different tickets before defecting.
Meanwhile, Jeniri said roping in PBM would backfire on BN, particularly in urban areas where, he alleged, Zuraida and other PBM leaders were seen as unprincipled.
PBM applied to join BN last month and the coalition is expected to decide on the matter at its Supreme Council meeting on Monday. It was previously reported that all four component parties must give its approval before any party could join the coalition.
Separately, Zakaria, who is also the Pahang PBM chairman, said the party was focused on defending seats its leaders won in the last general election (GE14), but were prepared to stand in other constituencies. - FMT
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