The fight for Bersatu’s soul
The positions some lawmakers took during the recent abbreviated Parliament sitting has raised urgent questions within the party.
Philip Golingai, The Star
SOME sort of history was created when five Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia MPs sat on the Opposition bench while 31 of the party’s parliamentarians were positioned with the government.
The unusual but not unexpected seating arrangement confirmed who was openly supporting Langkawi MP Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who might or might not be Bersatu chairman. They were Jerlun MP and Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Muar MP and Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik and Kubang Pasu MP Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah.
The party is split, according to one of its supreme council members, Tariq Ismail: It’s those who hold to the party’s original position of fighting kleptocrats and offering a better alternative to Umno versus opportunists.
But Wan Saiful Wan Jan, another supreme council member, contends that the split isn’t about principles.
“Tun Mahathir is taking it to a personal level where it is no longer about the direction the country is going in and how we can serve the country. It is more about him wanting to win, ” he said.
