Sheraton Move seen as a ‘betrayal’

PETALING JAYA: The fallout from the Sheraton Move in 2020 is the ultimate reason why Pakatan Harapan has rejected working with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, say political experts.

“It is clear that Pakatan blamed the move on Bersatu, and they felt it was a betrayal of the people’s mandate,” said Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Prof Dr Siva-murugan Pandian.

He said Pakatan was more receptive towards the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) because of their similar ideology, goals and common “enemy”.

USM Centre for Policy Research and International Studies Associate director Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said there was a “trust issue”, which was why Pakatan refused to work with Bersatu in the 15th General Election (GE15).

Pakatan was not comfortable working with Bersatu because of the Sheraton Move, and this was the fundamental reason why the cooperation did not materialise, he said.

He also noted that PAS had decided to work with Perikatan Nasional, adding, however, that this would not be advantageous for either Perikatan or Pakatan as they would be engaged in multi-cornered fights.

In a statement yesterday, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the party would not be cooperating with Pakatan in the upcoming GE15.

He said the decision came about following the Pakatan presidential council’s decision not to work with Bersatu.

The party, Muhyiddin said, is now prepared to face multi-cornered fights with Barisan Nasional, Pakatan and other political parties.

As for Bersatu’s chances in GE15, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia political analyst Dr Mazlan Ali believes that the party should not be written off as it has a fighting chance in traditional Malay seats.

“Pakatan would not be able to fight for these traditional Malay seats due to the stigma against DAP; under the right conditions, Bersatu could go head to head with Barisan Nasional,” he said.

And in view of certain factors weighing in against Barisan, he said there could be an opportunity for Bersatu to step in to offer something different.

“Perikatan, with PAS and Bersatu, has the ability to attract Malay votes.

“They could field appropriate candidates to challenge Umno and Barisan for the traditional Malay seats,” he said.