Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Proxy war, protest votes or over-reliance on Malay support - what is clear is that the honeymoon is over for Malaysia's Bersatu party headed by its ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin.
A shock by-election loss with a losing margin of over 20,000 votes has sounded a possible death knell for the party that once rode high as the anointed successor to Umno, which had collapsed and got thrown out by voters in 2018 after ruling Malaysia uninterruptedly since 1957.
Obviously, Bersatu lieutenants are rushing around trying to stem the panic that must be gripping their party. Yet the 'approved' propaganda from the top line of leadership is visibly weaker than the swell of gossip and drama that have sloshed on in the wake of the disastrous Mahkota by-election showing in Johor last month.
And unavoidably, the finger of internal sabotage has been pointed at the camp headed by Hamzah Zainuddin, the party's incoming deputy president.
Although Azmin, tipped to become Bersatu's secretary-general, poses no risk to Hamzah at the party's upcoming elections, to deny there is strong rivalry between the two men to control Bersatu would be facetious.
"Bersatu is still very much a potential pathway to the prime minister's job and both men want that. Muhyiddin is only slightly stronger than either one of them and that's because he's the founder of the party," an analyst told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
"Hamzah is from Umno and known for his cunning while Azmin is from PKR and known for being sneaky. This is a clash that can only end when one is vanquished. It will go on even after the party election. Both men are very ambitious, have huge egos and although both were responsible in helping Bersatu to become the ruling party and making Muhyiddin the PM, the day can be seen when either one will think nothing of deposing Muhyiddin as president."
'GOLDEN VOTE' HELD BY PAS?
Perhaps the deciding card on which of the two will prevail will be held by Pas. While Azmin was instrumental for building with ties with Pas for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Harapan coalition when he was still in PKR, Hamzah is known to be very close to Takiyuddin Hassan, the powerful secretary-general of Pas.
Perhaps the glaring lack of Pas support during the Mahkota by-election and the preceding one in Nenggiri, Kelantan which Bersatu also lost, is the sign that Pas favours working with Hamzah, who is known for his hardline ultra-Malay politics and distinct lack of forward-looking initiatives that include the other races which make up Malaysia's 30 million population.
Many believe that it would be unfortunate for Bersatu if Azmin lost out to Hamzah. At age 60, Azmin is seven years younger than Hamzah and clearly the more accomplished leader with much greater experience and finesse, having served not only as senior minister in Muhyiddin's cabinet but was also the Selangor chief minister from 2014 until he was switched to a federal cabinet post by ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad in 2018.
Both Azmin and Hamzah have scandals including corruption accusations attached to their baggage - yet in graft-riddled Malaysia, it has not hampered either. In fact, to most party grassroots, it only means both men have the 'big war chests' needed to stay relevant in politics.
MORE MODERATE WITH AZMIN, MORE EXTREMIST WITH HAMZAH?
Of the two, Azmin is also seen as more 'multiracial' and 'reformist' compared to the dour and ruthless Hamzah. If forced to choose between the two, it is clear that non-Malays would prefer to give their votes to Azmin. Unfortunately, the manner in which Azmin exited Anwar's PKR is still widely felt as a 'mother of all betrayals' especially to the non-Malay supporters and an issue that he has done little to repair or is too arrogant to bother.
"Azmin has no one to blame but himself. After defecting with 10 Members of Parliament from PKR to join Muhyiddin's Bersatu in the name of Malay unity, thus collapsing the first Pakatan administration, he just behaved or pretended as though he did nothing wrong. He has never acknowledged the hurt and anger Pakatan voters felt at his betrayal.
"And this is sad because as a person, Azmin is much less racist than many other Malay leaders and he is also very capable, organized and efficient in his work. If only he had not been so sneaky and was more patient. It's also tragic for Bersatu because Azmin is also more moderate and progressive than Hamzah. The party cannot keep relying on Malay anger at Umno to win support. The protest votes are already dwindling because Umno has also been pushing out their own healing plan and reaching out to the Malays for a second chance. You can see Malay support slowly changing pattern again - the disgust and frustration with Umno cannot last forever. At the same time, the question marks and doubts about Bersatu's ability to survive are growing."
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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