Bersatu Drama Shows Muhyiddin Not Easily Shoved Offstage

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However, an analyst warns that the open dissent seen at the weekend was only the beginning, and things would get more ugly and more brutal.
Muhyiddin Yassin survived an attempted coup that fell flat, but he needs to unite everyone in Bersatu, an analyst says.PETALING JAYA: Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin has once again proven he is not easily shoved off the stage – but a political analyst expects things to get uglier and more brutal until the party president is ousted
Muhyiddin had evidently survived an attempted coup that fell flat, another analyst said, but survival was not a strategy and Muhyiddin would need to do more if the party was to make headway at the next general election.
At the party’s annual assembly over the weekend, Muhyiddin had faced poison pen letters, delegates shouting in the hall and dissent that was previously quiet now coming out into the open.
Just a few hours before his keynote speech at the party’s general assembly on Saturday, 122 of 169 division chiefs broke ranks to have lunch 5km away from Ideal Convention Centre where the assembly was held.
One of the delegates who attended the lunch told FMT that it was a way to calm tensions as some of the division chiefs were calling for Muhyiddin’s head.
“They wanted him to step down immediately,” the delegate said, with some who did not want Muhyiddin to become the opposition’s prime minister candidate at the next general election.
Dissent and pledge of loyalty
A commotion later erupted late on Saturday night after Muhyiddin revealed in his address that some had been collecting signatures to oust him.
A small group of delegates then called for him to step down, while the majority of the delegates broke into chants of “Hidup Tan Sri” in his support.
Muhyiddin then warned that if signatures could be used to remove a president, the same could be done against other leaders at various levels of the party.
There had been speculation that 122 division chiefs had signed statutory declarations urging Muhyiddin to immediately carry out a change of leadership in Bersatu before GE16.
A day after the commotion, Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin pledged loyalty to Muhyiddin.
“Enough is enough. I want to inform all of you that I am the president’s number one supporter today. Whatever is required of me, believe me, I am your man,” he said.
Bersatu also unanimously resolved to nominate Muhyiddin as its prime minister candidate and fully support his presidency.
Things may get uglier
Political analyst Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara told FMT that the open dissent was just the beginning.
Azmi Hassan.“Before this, the dissent was quiet. Now it is in the open. With Muhyiddin himself revealing the signature drive, the move to push him out will continue,” he said.
“Expect it to become uglier and more brutal until the group that wants Muhyiddin to step down gets what it wants.”
Survival not a strategy
Another analyst, Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia, said the attempted coup “fell flat”, allowing Muhyiddin to continue to lead the party.
Sivamurugan Pandian.“If those opposing wanted to remove Muhyiddin, they could have done it in a proper manner.
“They should have said openly that a term limit on the president’s post should be set, and moved on to other national issues.Their voters are watching,” he told FMT.
Sivamurugan said the episode has left Bersatu looking uncomfortably divided like Umno of old, which was split into camps, distracted by leadership issues and unable to set a clear course.
“Bersatu was supposed to use the AGM to outline policies on the economy, cost of living and education. At least address how they will tackle unemployment among youths. There was nothing.
“Instead, they spent two good days on poison letters, chaos and internal manoeuvring. That is not how you prepare for GE16,” he said.
Muhyiddin has survived for now, said Sivamurugan. “But survival is not a strategy.”
He said for Muhyiddin to succeed at GE16, he must be able to unite everyone in his party, with a clear convincing agenda and policies to raise voters’ confidence,” he said. - FMT

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