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Thursday, March 02, 2023

Bersatu more relevant than Umno? Not necessarily, says analyst


FMT:

Bersatu more relevant than Umno? Not necessarily, says analyst


Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir claims the party derives its support from its association with PAS.



Perikatan Nasional leaders Muhyiddin Yassin of Bersatu (left) and Abdul Hadi Awang of PAS.


PETALING JAYA: An analyst has dismissed a claim that the younger generation finds Bersatu more relevant than Umno.

Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir said Bersatu was dependent for its appeal on its association with PAS, its Perikatan Nasional ally. Without PAS, “Bersatu would be nowhere”, he said.

The claim of relevance was made recently by former Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

Jeniri told FMT, Bersatu might even lose some supporters now because of the court cases against its leaders.

“With the slew of cases affecting the party’s leadership, including Wan Saiful, I think Malay voters will change their perception of the party,” he said.

Wan Saiful was recently charged with accepting a RM6.9 million bribe and soliciting an unspecified amount over a RM232 million road project under the Jana Wibawa initiative. He pleaded not guilty.

Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad was also charged with corruption in relation to the initiative, aimed at helping Bumiputera contractors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Party chief Muhyiddin Yassin is currently under investigation in a case related to Jana Wibawa.

Jeniri alleged that the cases had tarnished Bersatu’s image of being a clean party.

“It claims to be the cleaner party compared to Umno, but if the charges turn out to be true, then it’s no different from Umno,” he said.

Another analyst, James Chin of the University of Tasmania, said only the results of the coming state elections would prove Wan Saiful’s claim, but he conceded that Bersatu appeared to be stronger than Umno given the last general election’s voting pattern.

However, he said, the Malay vote was still “up for grabs”.

“It’s true that PAS is Bersatu’s main source of strength, but in areas where PAS isn’t strong, Bersatu has its own support as well,” he said.

“We should not take for granted that the Malay vote remains in one place. It does move. That’s why so many people were surprised by the rise of PAS, which attracted Malay votes in GE15.”

In the last general election, Perikatan Nasional secured 54% of the Malay votes.

Unlike Jeniri, Chin did not think the current court cases involving Bersatu leaders would greatly affect the party.

“This simply means Bersatu will find it a lot more difficult to accuse Umno, or its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, of corruption because its own people are also on trial,” he said.


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