LETTER | Forming PBM to help Bersatu?

LETTER | Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin today claimed that Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) was formed to help Bersatu gain the support that they could not get as a Malay nationalist party, referring to the non-Malay/Muslim voters.

However, in my view, such an agreement between Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin and Zuraida is unlikely.

First of all, it is virtually impossible for Muhyiddin to help form an extra potential future rival to endanger his own political career.

Muhyiddin has been sidelining Zuraida and her faction since Sheraton Move, knowing that they may not be 100 percent loyal to the party and may have their own agenda in striving for a higher power.

It is unlikely for Muhyiddin to give up on such precautions and allow Zuraida to lead her own party.

It is unsure how big PBM could grow, hence unsure to what extent Muhyiddin can control PBM in the future.

Such a decision is quite risky for Muhyiddin, a decision that I don’t believe a politician with more than 50 years of experience will make.

On Zuraida’s claim to make PBM the non-Malay/Muslim vote attractor of Bersatu, under the condition that PBM should not grow to become the rival or Bersatu or that would thin Bersatu’s benefit, mere vote attractor won’t work.

Currently, most non-Malay-Muslim votes concentrate on MCA, MIC, and DAP, and they are all old political parties, having built their influence since independence.

It is impossible for PBM to overtake them in such a short period. Zuraida’s rationale for such a claim is to paint an image on PBM to replace Gerakan which currently has no seats in both the Parliament and state assemblies.

However, even Gerakan has a long built grassroots influence in its own community.

With GE15 hitting anytime now, I don’t think finding a weak party to replace the current strong ones is a good decision and Muhyiddin definitely knows this.

Building influence and grassroots sometimes take decades of effort, and PBM is just not ready yet.

Then, what is the rationale behind Zuraida’s defection? She herself also said she and her faction was sidelined since the first day.

It is also puzzling for a woman wing chief of a multiracial party to jump into a conservative nationalist party.

Considering her relationship with Anwar Ibrahim and the then political landscape during Sheraton Move, leaving PKR to join Bersatu seems to be her only choice.

Now that her old PKR faction members are forming PBM, another multiracial party, it is reasonable for Zuraida to leave Bersatu and join them, as it aligns with her own agendas and she can hold higher positions shall PBM wins the general election. 

I cannot be certain of the existence of negotiations between Zuraida and Muhyiddin to make PBM Bersatu’s non-Malay/Muslim vote attractor, but I believe that such negotiations are unlikely to happen.

In a climate where most people are against party hopping, Zuraida must justify her own actions.

By packaging PBM into a non-Malay/Muslim vote attractor for Bersatu, Zuraida can retain some of her supporters to increase her chance of winning in the upcoming GE15.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.