KUCHING: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s call for Malays to unite under Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is more than psychological war strategy to put pressure on the division heads and committees to work harder.
Universiti Malaya (UM) Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman who shared his opinion with New Sarawak Tribune, said the call by Dr Mahathir is meant to put pressure on the leadership of division heads and committees to work harder because of Bersatu’s membership which is still unsatisfactory despite having been formed a few years and being led by Dr Mahathir himself.
“It is common knowledge that there are only two to three branches in one division. Thus, what does it mean to be a leader without enough members to bring victory in the coming 15th General Election?
“Apart from that, it is also a message and political pressure by Tun M to the Democratic Action Party (DAP) not to exert internal pressure on his leadership and if all the Malay parties are united then DAP will be outdated,” he explained.
Azman also said that Dr Mahathir was conscious of Bersatu’s current difficult position to win once again in the GE15 as the party won only 13 out of the 50 seats it contested in GE14.
“After all, the MPs who jumped to Bersatu have no expertise or grassroots support. Hence, the ones that jumped are not the main leaders. The proof is that no United Malays National Organisation (Umno) branch has been disbanded due to the existence of Bersatu and so it is a threat to the survival of the party,” he said.
“Bersatu needs Umno and PAS more than otherwise. Umno and PAS are getting stronger and their cooperation while Bersatu is only dependent on Tun M’s aura and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who was once an Umno leader.
“People will still remember that Umno split up resulted in the existence of People’s Justice Party (PKR) and the party is the result of Dr Mahathir’s desire to remain in power as prime minister.
“It is quite funny for a small party or a tiny fragment to a big and historic party to invite bigger parties to join them as Tun M is no longer the president of Umno,” he said.
