Credibility? What credibility, Bersatu?

 

Firstly, I wish to ask the same question posed by a Malaysiakini reader to Bersatu: “How did the party secure RM255 million in 'donations' amid the pandemic?”

Being able to collect RM255 million from sponsors within 17 months of helming a backdoor government is quite an amazing feat, by any standard. That was how long Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was prime minister.

To top it all, Bersatu is a relatively new party, formed only in 2016. Its first chairperson, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, served as prime minister for 22 months under a Pakatan Harapan government before the treacherous Sheraton Move caused its downfall.

Both Mahathir and Muhyiddin did not achieve anything significant during their short tenures as prime ministers. Unsurprisingly, how Bersatu managed to amass millions in donations and, during the coronavirus pandemic, had now raised eyebrows.

RM255 million is a lot of money. It’s unbelievable for a new party like Bersatu to secure such an enormous sum from donors. I’m not sure whether Umno, a 77-year-old political juggernaut with more than three million members, has RM255 million in its coffers.

Rightly, MACC took action and had frozen Bersatu’s accounts in order to facilitate investigations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act.

This was what prompted the party to make public its audited accounts for 2020 and 2021.

Many senior Bersatu leaders had cried foul over the MACC action and understandably so.

I took special note of what the party’s secretary-general, Hamzah Zainudin had said.

Following the freezing of Bersatu’s bank accounts, Hamzah has decried the current administration for allegedly using a government agency as a tool to “kill” the party’s credibility as well as that of Perikatan Nasional.

Allow me to dissect Hamzah’s allegation that the government was using MACC to kill Bersatu’s credibility.

Excuse me, does Bersatu have any credibility in the first place? To many, me certainly, the party has zero credibility!

For starters, the party comprises known traitors, many of whom had used Bersatu as a “temporary parking bay”. These MPs found it convenient to park themselves in Bersatu, with no sense of loyalty or commitment to the party at all.

Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin

Soon after the 14th general election in 2018, it started admitting Umno MPs – with Hamzah being one of the early turncoats from Umno which was soundly beaten for the first time in a general election.

Following the Sheraton putsch in February 2020, Bersatu admitted another group of traitors from PKR led by Azmin Ali.

Seriously, what credibility do these politicians who quickly abandon a sinking ship, and have no qualms about turning against their party colleagues have?

What matters to them is their quest (read lust and greed) for power, position and wealth.

In a nutshell, Bersatu is a collection of turncoats and traitors – politicians who betrayed their original parties, unwanted and discarded for their heinous treachery.

What credibility does a party like Bersatu which collected “rubbish” from the dumpsite have? Soon, some of the traitors, including those who were serving as ministers and deputy ministers, left the party.

Talk about karma. When you are desperate for the numbers and start to admit every Tom, Dick and Harry without screening them, this is what you get.

Bersatu, a ‘temporary parking bay’

Those who used Bersatu as a “temporary parking bay” have no loyalty to the party. At the next opportunity, these self-serving MPs who know they owe Bersatu nothing will quit the party without batting an eyelid.

What is Bersatu today? To me, it is a fault-finding movement which will pick fights with the government at any given opportunity.

I will say this again. Muhyiddin is a sore loser, unable to stomach how Pakatan Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim beat him to the coveted crown.

His motive now can only be ulterior and necessarily evil – to bash Anwar at every opportunity, hoping that the unity government would collapse so that he could return as prime minister.

I’m still trying to comprehend why Muhyiddin was reluctant to face Anwar head-on in Parliament and declined to take up the opposition leader post.

Instead, he allowed Hamzah, known within Bersatu as the president’s trouble-shooter, to lead the opposition in the august house.

One of Hamzah’s “dirty jobs” for Muhyiddin was plotting the downfall of the Warisan government in Sabah, which eventually led to the snap polls in September 2020.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin

We can recall that the unnecessary Sabah election caused the third wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.

Four weeks later after the polls, on Oct 24, Sabah recorded 11,285 cumulative cases, becoming the first state in the country to record more than 10,000 cases. The death toll for Sabah was more than 3,000.

Looking back, what did the Sabah election achieve? How did it benefit the state and Sabahans? It brought nothing but sorrow and death.

The blame is put squarely on the shoulders of Bersatu leaders whose plotting and scheming caused a meaningless electoral exercise and brought misery, suffering and death.

I can go on and on talking about Bersatu and its failed leadership. I remember quite clearly how the party misfits led by Muhyiddin mismanaged the nation and tore it asunder. Even 17 months is too long for Muhyiddin to be in the hot seat.

Right now, questioning the RM225 million in Bersatu accounts is not a priority. It pales in comparison to my next poser which is more important and valid.

I wish to ask the Bersatu’s top brass what they have done for the families left behind by those who succumbed to Covid-19, after the Sabah election in September 2020.

Come on, Bersatu. You crave credibility. Now, prove that you have some. - Mkini

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FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is a veteran Sarawak editor and heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.