Bersatu rep says betrayed twice by party

Abdul Rashid Asari cites an incident involving seat negotiations with PN as well as a time when his recommendations for division chiefs were ignored.

(FMT) – A Bersatu assemblyman who spoke against the opposition in the run-up to the by-election in Kuala Kubu Baharu claims he was betrayed by the party, especially those in positions of leadership.

Recalling the seat negotiations among Perikatan Nasional (PN) components ahead of the 15th general election in 2022, Abdul Rashid Asari said that Bersatu and PAS had agreed to stand in seven parliamentary seats each in Selangor.

Gerakan, meanwhile, would contest four seats while another four would be defended by the then incumbent MPs.

At the last minute, PAS decided to stand in Kapar as well, a seat which traditionally belonged to Bersatu, Rashid said.

“I fought hard for Kapar to remain a Bersatu seat because if PAS took it, they would have kept it until the end of the world,” he told FMT.

Dr Halimah Ali of PAS went on to win the parliamentary seat in a seven-cornered fight.

Rashid, the Selat Klang assemblyman, did not say who would have represented his party for the seat in the event that his efforts succeeded.

However, he said that Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the chairman of PN, could have intervened but chose to remain silent.

“What would you have done if you were in my shoes?”

Rashid also cited another occasion where he said he submitted 22 names for consideration as division chiefs while he was still in charge of Bersatu’s state chapter.

According to him, only five were chosen while the remaining spots were given to those aligned with certain leaders – a group he described as a cartel.

Rashid said those who were snubbed had been very angry with him.

“After working with the party for several years, all my opinions were ignored and I felt betrayed by that,” he said.

Bersatu was formed by Muhyiddin and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2016. It was registered in 2017.

Rashid declared support for Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari in March this year. He was recently replaced by former Selangor menteri besar Azmin Ali as the state’s Bersatu chief.