Bersatu reps defect to Parti Bangsa Malaysia, Sng takes the reins

Several Bersatu leaders, including two assemblypersons, have defected to Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM).

Their entry was revealed at a special party conference today where new officeholders were elected with Julau MP Larry Sng, who previously quit PKR, taking the reins of the party as the new president.

Among the notable new officeholders include Tronoh assemblyperson Paul Yong and Buntong assemblyperson A Sivasubramaniam who were both originally from DAP but defected to Bersatu in March last year.

Sivasubramaniam is PBM's new senior vice-president II while Yong is the treasurer-general. Yong is presently standing trial for alleged rape.

Another notable appointment is Malim Nawar assemblyperson Leong Cheok Keng, who had sided with Yong and Sivasubramaniam, and was sacked from DAP in January last year.

He was made a PBM supreme council member.

Former PKR leader Zakaria Abdul Hamid who joined Bersatu in December 2020 was appointed as the information chief.

He is seen as a political operative of G10, a group of 10 PKR MPs who defected during the Sheraton Move which brought down the Pakatan Harapan government in 2020.

The two main leaders of the G10, who subsequently joined Bersatu, are led by Gombak MP Azmin Ali and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin.

The G10 initially planned to form their own party but later joined Bersatu due to a lack of time ahead of the 15th general election due in 2023.

Troubles in Bersatu

However, Azmin and Zuraida supporters have run into trouble in Bersatu, with its Sarawak leaders being unable to contest in the state due to Bersatu's agreement with GPS not to contest there.

Non-bumiputera members in Bersatu also do not have voting rights, diluting their support base compared to older Bersatu leaders.

Since late last year, there have been discussions in the political grapevine of a split within the G10 with some wanting to stick with Bersatu while others wanting to revive the plan for a new party.

The speculation was further fuelled when Zuraida did not dismiss joining PBM when asked if she will consider leading the party last month.

Zuraida does not appear to be prepared to make a move yet. She was absent from the new leadership line-up.

However, her political lieutenant Hizwan Ahmad was appointed as the PBM secretary-general.

Some 50,000 members from Zuraida-linked NGO Penggerak Komuniti Negara have also joined PBM.

The BN-Perikatan Nasional (PN) government recently axed the Penggerak Komuniti Tempatan system created by Zuraida when she was the local government and housing minister.

The system essentially created positions to shadow local councillors with many appointments coming from Zuraida's NGO.

Azmin and Zuraida camps

However, Zuraida's influence was diluted after she was transferred to the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry when Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob took over as the prime minister.

Several former PKR women leaders closely associated with Zuraida including Lembah Jaya assemblyperson Haniza Mohamed Talha and Sementa assemblyperson Daroyah Alwi were also appointed as new PBM officeholders.

Haniza is the new PBM deputy president I while Daroyah is the women chief.

Former PKR assemblypersons Ong Chin Wen and Lee Chin Cheh were also made supreme council members while former PKR Youth leader Na'im Brundage was elected the PBM youth chief.

The trio is known to be aligned to Azmin and Zuraida when they were in PKR.

Other notable appointments include Tebrau MP Steven Choong who was appointed as the senior vice president I. He quit PKR in February last year.

The following is the new PBM line-up:- 

President: Larry Sng
Deputy president I: Haniza Mohamed Talha
Deputy president II: Wong Judat
Senior vice-president I: Steven Choong
Senior vice-president II: A Sivasubramaniam
Vice presidents:
Rahimah Majid
Sathish Kumar
Saful Bahari Sahri
Secretary-general: Nor Hizwan Ahmad (appointed)
Deputy-secretary-general: Jenny Chiew (appointed)
Treasurer-general: Paul Yong (appointed)
Information chief: Zakaria Abdul Hamid (appointed)
Women chief: Daroyah Alwi
Youth chief: Na'im Brundage
Supreme council members:
Ab Aziz Ab Kadir
Alan Oh Teik Choon
Lee Chin Cheh
Zakaria Abdul Rahim
Dr Kaniappan
Levenia Mawas
Engga anak Unchat
Chua Lian Chye
Roger Tan Seng Huat
Leong Cheok Keng
Shuhada Abdul Rahim
Ong Chin Wen
Albakri Salim
Ahmad Khairul
Ramana K Naidu
Muniraa Abu Bakar (appointed)

Zuraida to move on from Bersatu?

Over 50k members from NGO linked to Zuraida join new party

Zuraida prepared to consider joining Parti Bangsa Malaysia - report