Malaysia’s Bersatu No ‘Party of Old Men,’ Opposition Leader Says

The government agency that registers political parties in Malaysia is threatening to remove the country’s newest opposition party from its rolls because it has become a threat, its president claimed to BenarNews on Tuesday.

The United Malaysian Indigenous Party [Bersatu] – led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed – is expected to mount a stiff challenge to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling coalition in polls that must take place within the next six months.

“When we applied, within 30 days we were registered. Maybe the warlords up there thought, this is a party of old men, small party, can’t do much,” Bersatu President Muhyiddin Yassin told BenarNews on Tuesday, recalling its debut on the political scene in August 2016.

“Our campaign throughout the country has received such a huge welcome, and probably they are afraid with such a situation. This is a democratic country, whoever wants to form a party, they can form … it looks like their action is unfair and is a way of scaring us,” he said.

Now, Bersatu – also known by its Malay acronym, PPBM – is rushing to file financial statements and minutes of meetings at branch and headquarter levels after the Registry of Societies warned it would receive a notice of dissolution on March 28 if it failed to do so.

RoS has said it needs the documents to investigate complaints it has received from former PPBM members.

Bersatu candidates – including Mahathir – will still compete in the election if the party loses its registration, Muhyiddin said.

He deemed it “highly likely” the opposition would attract defectors from Najib’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO), but also predicted that “massive cheating” could ensure it stays in power.

Najib has dismissed the opposition claims, saying the nation’s electoral system is more transparent than ever, as free and fair elections are ensured with polling agents, counting agents and the use of indelible ink, among other measures, according to a local news report.

“The chance to cheat is almost non-existent," he said. "So how can they (the opposition) say the electoral system is unfair?"

Excerpts of the interview with Muhyiddin:

BenarNews: Are you still trying to meet the March 28 deadline?

Muhyiddin Yassin: We will try to meet the deadline but we are not too sure even if we meet the requirements, whether the answers we give is acceptable and complete from their point of view, that I’m not too sure. Whatever it is, we have to wait when the time comes.

BN: If you miss the deadline, what happens next? How will your candidates contest the election?

MY: We have options. We have discussed this at length at our Supreme Council. We know what we can do. But importantly we are committed [to] the cause of Pakatan Harapan … We believe members of the other three parties would want us to be part of the coalition and so what has been agreed by them is PPBM’s participation in the election, seat allocations and all. Of course we still will be able to contest under the election even if we don’t have a party, even it is deregistered.  If the Pakatan leaders say, you can use our logo, whichever one you want to use, they allow us to do so.

BN: Do you think this threat of possible deregistration has arisen because PPBM is getting more support than anticipated?

MY: I think that is one of the reasons. When we applied, within 30 days we were registered. Maybe the warlords up there thought, this is a party of old men, small party, can’t do much … Our campaign throughout the country has received such huge welcome, and probably they are afraid with such a situation. This is a democratic country, whoever wants to form a party, they can form … it looks like their action is unfair and is a way of scaring us.

BN: It looks like PH has been open to PPBM being part of the coalition.

MY: In such a short period of time, we have forged quite a deep bond. It is clear the coalition movement is going strong. They initially said we were in disarray and all that.

BN: Do you think this coming general election is going to be a fair one?

MY: No! … For the reason [Prime Minister Najib Razak] fears BN is going to lose and fears for himself and his cronies. So under that situation and severe pressure and stress, I can imagine, he could do anything possible to derail the election … We are quite aware. We have submitted our views to the Election Commission and we want the commission to be an independent body, to act freely and fairly. … We seek for foreign observers to look [at] what is happening here, so then when we lose it is not because of no votes but because of cheating ... massive cheating that Najib is going to do during this election.

BN: Why would non-Malays vote for a party called the United Malaysian Indigenous Party?

MY: I think they understand the name of Bersatu/Pribumi. They thought we are racist but now they understand we are not. We are really a Malaysia party with nationalistic nature, fighting for all Malaysians – Chinese, Indians, Sabahans, Sarawakians and others. It is a national party for the sake of Malaysia… We will fight for all races, find solutions to many ills the country and people are facing.

BN: There are signs that parliament would be dissolved soon. Is Pakatan ready?

MY: Pakatan Harapan is tired of waiting for the 14th General Election but the signs in the Parliament are there … In Johor, Merdeka Centre said 39 percent of voters are ready to vote for opposition. This has never happened before for a state like Johor, which is an important state where Barisan Nasional has long been the powerhouse.  This is not a good sign for Barisan Nasional but a great sign for  Pakatan Harapan.

Our strategy is to pull the support from Malays who used to support BN and especially UMNO. It is clear our strategy is working. In the 2013 General Election, the opposition had 52 percent of popular votes and BN had 48 percent. But it wasn’t enough to bring a change, there are still weaknesses. I believe if there is a 5 percent move, to maybe 55 percent or 57 percent, which is highly likely to happen especially among the Malays, the win will be for Pakatan Harapan.