Without Power Bersatu Stares Into The Abyss

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Bersatu was formed in a rush and rotated constantly in its six years of existence. Those rotations are driven by power, not principles, which is why turbulence accompanies it.
Praba Ganesan, MMO
Bersatu faces the spectre of a lengthy spell out of federal power. It may die during the wait.
This is typical of the high risk-high payback of identity politics, especially in a crowded field. The ones in power plough on picking up residuals from the defeated as the vanquished lack policy heft to keep themselves relevant.
Let’s examine the scorecards first. A formal vote at Dewan Rakyat next Monday (December 19, 2022) secures Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration.
Mutual public admissions and the plethora of Cabinet appointments from across the spectrum supports Anwar’s claim that at least 140 — if not more — of the 222 back him. The floor vote ends legitimacy disputes.
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional (PN) names Hamzah Zainudin as leader of the opposition in the upcoming session, the first for Malaysia’s 15th elected Parliament.
Quick sprint to power
Why Bersatu risks termination requires an examination of its short six-year journey with four of them in power, the delicate balance of power inside the PN coalition and the upcoming state elections.
A combination of Muhyiddin Yassin’s Umno expulsion and Mahathir Mohamad’s rejection of Umno resulted in Bersatu’s formation in 2016.
Loyalists — very few of them openly — of both personalities switched allegiances. As such, the party was padded up with outlier characters, such as Islamic educationist Maszlee Malik, think tank CEO Wan Saiful Wan Jan and youth darling Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
As Pakatan Harapan member, Bersatu added the Malay-enough credentials of the coalition. Despite winning only 12 seats in the Pakatan 2018 majority, Bersatu chairman Mahathir was made prime minister.
End of part one.
Bersatu 2.0. Between May 2018 to the end of 2019, Umno bled MPs to the new upstart. Hamzah is one of them, along with Jeli’s Mustapa Mohamed and Masjid Tanah’s Mas Ermieyati Shamsudin.
Bersatu became 38 MP strong. Desertion rates were unprecedented and Bersatu opened its arms to fatten up its count so that it can stand strong to Pakatan partners DAP and PKR.
Begins here part three.
The Sheraton Move ripped apart Pakatan but in a convenient manner — at least to the Muhyiddin camp — maintained Bersatu leadership of the resulting Perikatan Nasional federal administration while shedding Mahathir and allies.
PN in power has been in two parts, one on top (March 2020-August 2021), and the second as partner (August 2021-November 2022).
Two key observations from three stages, Bersatu was both fluid and volatile in equal measure through the period. Leaders in and out, but also leadership switched around.
Just look at how the original team unravelled.
Maszlee wandered around and failed to defend his Simpang Renggam seat as a PKR candidate. Wan Saiful stayed loyal to Muhyiddin and is the Tasek Gelugor MP — evolving from a free-market advocate to a protectionist ultra-Malay. Syed Saddiq left the stable and formed MUDA. He still is Muar MP but with Pakatan, nominally.
The Bersatu splinter, Pejuang, drowned in the last general election along with its leader Mahathir. Everyone lost their deposits. Expect Pejuang members to inch their way back to Umno, Bersatu, PKR, PAS and whoever else who’ll have them.
So, when people say they were with Bersatu, it depends on iterations and windows.
When was that?
The time they cosied up to Pakatan, the time they opposed PAS, the time they split up Pakatan, the time they cosied up to PAS and Umno, the time they split up with the Umno leadership or the time they whipped BN and Pakatan in the Malay heartland with PAS’ base?
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