Betrayal, punishment and by-elections

The signs point to a string of by-elections as Bersatu prepares to move against its six MPs and an assemblyman, but will the Speaker of Parliament declare the seats vacant?

THEY were personal friends and golfing partners, but it looks like Bersatu politician Dato Abdul Rashid Asari and party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin won’t be hitting golf balls together anymore.

Abdul Rashid - the Selat Klang assemblyman who stunned everyone when he declared his support for the Selangor Mentri Besar last month - had been friends with Muhyiddin for more than 20 years, standing by him through his ups and downs.

Muhyiddin, during his lowest point after being sacked from Umno, used to tell Abdul Rashid, “now I know who my true friends are ''.

However, it seems like the end of a friendship and also the end of Abdul Rashid’s political career because Bersatu is planning to act against Abdul Rashid and the six MPs who expressed support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The six-plus-one, as the six MPs and one assemblymen have been referred to, have betrayed and embarrassed the party. Politics is a numbers game and their action gives the impression that the party is unstable, lacks discipline and is losing support.

The loophole in the Bersatu constitution protected these individuals from having to resign their seats.

But the party has since amended its constitution, along the lines of what Umno and DAP did much earlier, and the amendments have been approved by the Registrar of Societies, effective from April 1.

The amended constitution now requires Bersatu MPs, assemblymen and senators to comply with the instructions and decisions of the party or cease to be members of the party.

The cessation of their party membership will enable the Anti-Hopping Act to come into force, thereby requiring them to vacate their seats.

As a result, a total of seven by-elections in Kuala Kangsar, Bukit Gantang, Gua Musang, Jeli, Tanjung Karang, Labuan and Selat Klang are looming on the horizon.

The Bersatu leadership council or MPT (Majlis Pimpinan Tinggi) plan to issue the ultimatum to the group after the Hari Raya celebrations.

There is a possibility that some of them will return to the fold but Abdul Rashid has reached a point of no return.

“I am willing to face anything, even if it means losing my seat,” he said.

Abdul Rashid is a lawyer, with polished manners and a refined way of speaking. He ranks among the pioneering members of Bersatu who are known as “kumpulan ansar '' or the original group as opposed to the “kumpulan Muhajirun,” the migrant group that joined later.

He was tasked with setting up the party in Selangor in 2016 and things went smoothly until the 2022 general election when his list of candidates failed to go through.

This happened again in the 2023 state polls, and the last straw was when Datuk Seri Azmin Ali replaced him as the Selangor chief last year.

The party has accused him of betrayal whereas Abdul Rashid felt betrayed by the party leadership.

“I put in so much time and effort all those years but they bullied me, nobody cared about my opinion. They have pushed me too far against the wall,” he said.

The thing is that Azmin has emerged as a political force in Selangor after he spearheaded Perikatan Nasional to win 22 out of 56 state seats. Even Umno leaders concede that Azmin is unbeatable as an organiser, campaigner and orator.

Azmin and Abdul Rashid, said a Selangor businessman, are as different as day and night - one is a political animal par excellence, the other is a gentleman politician.

Among the six MPs, several switched support because they were genuinely short of funds to even set up a decent service centre.

For instance, the MPs for Gua Musang and Jeli, Mohd Azizi Abu Naim and Zahari Kechik respectively, were under immense pressure to measure up to their predecessors who were big names with the means to serve their base.

Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid came under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission and his bank accounts were reportedly frozen, thereby hampering his constituency duties.

Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul had more personal reasons for switching affections. Known in Perak as the “taukeh beras” or rice boss, he is a successful businessman whose wealth came from government contracts. Thus, he could not afford to be on the wrong side of Putrajaya.

He was also among the first Umno MPs to cross over to Bersatu after the 2018 general election because, according to most accounts, he needed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s help on a police case involving a family member.

Some claimed Syed Abu Hafiz has kept a low profile in his constituency for fear of being scolded by those upset by his betrayal.

But he is a generous MP with the means to take care of his base. A few days ago, he delivered two tonnes of fish to his constituency to be sold at half the market price.

Meanwhile, Bersatu leaders are not sure whether the Speaker of Parliament Tan Sri Johari Abdul will play fair and declare those seats vacant or if he will play politics with the party.

According to a top Bersatu figure, getting past the hurdle in Parliament is a bigger worry than fighting the by-elections.

The enticement of support for PMX has not gone down well with right-thinking Malaysians because it does not reflect the new politics that Pakatan Harapan had promised.

It also seems to have backfired on the ruling coalition which now has to face by-elections in what are essentially Malay-majority seats.

On the other hand, Bersatu’s zest in forcing a fresh contest may not necessarily be all sunshine and everything nice. Gua Musang and Labuan could present tough fights because Bersatu won the seats by only 163 and 708 votes respectively.

Umno has declared its interest in contesting the by-elections and even if it were to win only one seat, it can crow to the entire kampung that it is on the comeback.

On the other hand, Bersatu has to win back every single seat in order to stay on track with its narrative of capturing Putrajaya in the next general election.

There is much at stake in what will be yet another test of Malay sentiments.