Bersatu's talk of snap polls a diversion from internal division - PKR MP

Summary

• Bersatu’s talk of snap polls is a diversion from its internal division, says PKR lawmaker R Yuneswaran.

• He cites Bersatu defectors who said camps around Muhyiddin Yassin and Hamzah Zainudin are going into “overdrive”.

• Truce among Bersatu leaders has “worn out”, he adds.

Bersatu’s talk of snap polls is a diversion from the party’s internal division, said PKR lawmaker R Yuneswaran today.

Citing Bersatu defectors, the Segamat MP said Bersatu camps around president Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-president Hamzah Zainudin have gone into “overdrive”.

Muhyiddin and Hamzah have not been seen together in public for a while now, Yuneswaran added.

“When all is said and done, this talk of snap polls on a national level would seem to be an optimistic attempt at deflecting from the party’s own schisms,” he said.

Yuneswaran (above) was speaking of Bersatu secretary-general Azmin Ali, who last week said that his party has kick-started its machinery in anticipation of a snap general election.

Truce ‘worn out’?

In November, Muhyiddin told Malaysiakini that he had successfully arranged for the election of a “compromise team” to alleviate friction in the party.

It was speculated that the compromise was made to prevent a battle between factions aligned with Hamzah and Azmin.

The party’s leadership was then switched around, with Hamzah releasing his hold on the secretary-general position to make way for Azmin.

However, Yuneswaran alluded to the truce having “worn out”.

He pointed to Muhyiddin receiving a mandate from the Bersatu supreme council to ensure that the party election did not cause rifts.

“What he did was create a no contest with himself as president while Hamzah slipped into the deputy slot even as then incumbent Ahmad Faizal Azumu took a step back. But the truce has worn out.

“Questions abound over whether this preempts further potential defections given that six MPs switched their support to the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim,” Yuneswaran said.

He was referring to the six former Bersatu MPs who had declared their support for Anwar as the prime minister, defying the party’s stance as the opposition.

Former Bersatu leader Mahathir Mohd Rais also recently resigned from the party, hinting that he will join a ruling party.

Corruption cloud

Yuneswaran pointed to the corruption cases faced by Bersatu leaders as well as PAS’ role as the “big brother” in opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional.

“And just how many Bersatu leaders are keen to take power amid ongoing corruption charges and cases?

“And what does the party’s big brother PAS make of having to carry a divided group into future elections?

“After all there are seats that Bersatu won because of PAS support, but the converse is hardly true,” he said.

Last month, PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin said the Islamist party should lead PN, citing its political strength compared to Bersatu.

For the record, PAS has 43 parliamentary seats in the Dewan Rakyat to Bersatu’s 25.

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