Wan Saiful mocks PBM for ‘kneeling before’ BN

 

Wan Saiful Wan Jan says Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Gerakan Tanah Air will not have much impact, but can cause a split in votes for Malay/Muslim parties instead.

PETALING JAYA: Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan has taken a swipe at Zuraida Kamaruddin’s Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) for applying to join Barisan Nasional (BN), describing them as “kneeling before” the Umno-led coalition.

At a press conference in Kedah, Wan Saiful pointed out how PBM’s members, who included former PKR members like Zuraida, Larry Sng and Steven Choong, seemed to be moving from one coalition to the next.

“In terms of its (PBM’s) history, they (the PBM members) were in PKR under the Pakatan Harapan coalition. They then switched to Perikatan Nasional. Now, they’re ‘kneeling’ before BN again for the sake of power. This is something I regret to see, but good luck to them,” he said.

Zuraida, a former PKR vice-president, quit Bersatu in May to join PBM. She was sacked with Azmin Ali in the wake of the Sheraton Move in February 2020.

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Sng and Choong were also sacked by PKR in February last year, after they voiced support for the Muhyiddin Yassin-led government. They remained independent MPs until PBM’s formation.

On Wednesday, Zuraida, PBM’s president-designate, said the party had submitted its official application to join BN about three weeks ago. She added, however, that there has been no response yet from BN.

Wan Saiful also played down the impact of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s new Malay-only coalition, Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA), describing it as a grouping of smaller Malay parties.

He did not see GTA as posing any threat to BN, PN or even PH. However, he noted that it could cause a further split in votes, which would not benefit PN.

Asked if PN would consider working with GTA, he said it was too early to tell.

“What I’m worried about is that this could lead to a greater split in Malay/Muslim party politics,” he said. - FMT