PETALING JAYA: The recent decision by a Bersatu MP to pledge support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was an indictment on the party’s leadership, a former Umno leader said.
Shahril Hamdan pointed out that none of the MPs from PAS – Bersatu’s Perikatan Nasional ally – had backed the government.
“And we have been saying this all along about PAS. Like it or not, their loyalty to the party is strong,” the former Umno information chief said in the latest episode of the “Keluar Sekejap”podcast, which he co-hosts with former minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
On Wednesday, Tanjong Karang MP Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi became the sixth Bersatu MP to pledge his support for Anwar.
The other Bersatu MPs who have announced their support for Anwar are Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang) and Zahari Kechik (Jeli).
Shahril went on to say that the lack of development funds may be a reason why they had pledged support for the prime minister. “But like it or not, it’s also an indictment on Bersatu’s leadership.”
Anwar has said that declarations of support for him did not hinge on access to constituency funds. However Suhaili confirmed receiving allocations for his constituency after declaring support for Anwar on Oct 30.
Khairy agreed that the pledging of support for Anwar was an indictment, but added that Bersatu was a little “fragile”. The MPs from PAS could look to the PAS-led state governments for funds.
“Bersatu is not controlling any state, so they are a little fragile,” said Khairy.
Earlier today, FMT quoted an unnamed Bersatu leader as saying the decision by some of its MPs to back the government may have been prompted by Muhyiddin Yassin’s U-turn on giving up the presidency.
According to the source the MPs felt the party was losing direction and wanted a new leader to get it back on track. - FMT
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