INTERVIEW | For seven years, Muhammad Faiz Na’aman said he has endured and remained patient with various issues within Bersatu before finally deciding to leave the party on Aug 7.
Believing the party has no future without necessary reforms, he said Bersatu now resembled nothing more than a public toilet, or worse, as it was not being properly managed.
“The influence of the ‘cartel’ group within Bersatu is so strong that they have turned the party into something akin to a public toilet or a brothel, where anyone can come and go easily,” he told Malaysiakini in an interview in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, yesterday.
Formerly one of the outspoken top leaders who expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, he explained that certain individuals who joined other parties were able to get involved with Bersatu again.
Being unable to confirm whether this was a planned move or not, he said there is a possibility that this situation is related to attempts by certain groups to expand their influence within Bersatu.
Furthermore, Bersatu is set to hold party elections soon after the state elections are over.
Faiz questioned whether this situation was being allowed by the central leadership or if it was intentionally left unchecked for reasons unknown.
At the same time, Faiz said there are problems with Bersatu’s organisational structure, as there are entities that seem to override the party’s supreme council.
“It’s the Bersatu political bureau. Sometimes, decisions are made by the bureau without approval or prior notification to the supreme council.
“That’s why I sometimes faced problems.
“As a supreme council member, I am responsible for safeguarding Bersatu’s good name, whether to the media or grassroots members.
“But when decisions are made without referring to the supreme council, that’s the reason confusion arises sometimes,” he said.
The bureau informs the supreme council only after a decision is made, Faiz said, adding that the proper procedure should be the opposite.
“In Bersatu, there is a group that is more elite than the party elite,” he said.
Such a situation does not occur in any other political party, he said, especially in Umno where every decision is openly declared and receives the “blessing” of the respective top bodies.
“There are also egotistical characters in Bersatu,” he said, while refusing to name them.
Faiz was one of the early figures involved in Bersatu’s formation and was appointed to the supreme council for two terms.
However, he announced his departure from Bersatu on Monday (Aug 7) due to his dissatisfaction with the party’s direction, including its preparations for the state elections.
Faiz also revealed how he was reprimanded by a senior Bersatu leader for making a public statement as a way to “provoke” a reaction from the opposing party.
This move, he added, was done to give Bersatu an advantage over the government.
“For instance, the teasing about the number ‘126’ was linked to rumours of a change in government in early May.
“I did it as a provocation, but there was a senior Bersatu leader who was angry, though I’m not sure what drove him to be that way.
“Is there something he knows that I don’t?” he said.
Nevertheless, according to Faiz, he refrained from acting rashly and instead tried to be patient and rectify the situation from within, as well as offering tactful criticism.
Asked why he left Bersatu in the final days of campaigning before the elections in six states, Faiz said he didn’t do it out of spite after not being selected as an election candidate.
He believed that the future of Bersatu looked bleak, and staying with the party would mean he would also bear responsibility for its failures.
“With unclear planning, lack of cadres, internal politicking - all of these are worrying members at various levels, and I am responsible for explaining this situation to them.
“If I were to remain in the supreme council, it would also mean that I would have to bear this burden,” he added. - Mkini
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