Khairuddin Abu Hassan said the resignations, rather than having a negative effect on PPBM, would result in their supporters rooting even more for the party to do well in the 14th General Election (GE14).
He said the party was lucky as it was led by former prime minister Dr Mahathir and former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who were once senior Umno leaders themselves.
“Their past experience in the government and in Umno will help Bersatu (PPBM) sail through this storm in a tea cup,” he told FMT.
Khairuddin said this when asked for his comments on the resignation of PPBM vice-president Hamidah Osman and former supreme council member Anina Saadudin.
Khairuddin, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Najib Razak in regard to the 1MDB issue, said PPBM had its own niche supporters, who were former Umno grassroots members.
“The party should now focus on winning the general election together with Pakatan Harapan allies by reaching out to Umno members and voters,” he said.
He said it was normal for members to resign from an infant party but that the leadership of PPBM should now get down to the important task of tackling the fundamental issues that will ensure the well-being of the country and its people.
“If you look at PKR, the party had its fair share of problems in the early stages but successfully overcame these setbacks to the point that they did well in the general election because the people continued to support them,” he said.
Yesterday, Anina quit the party she helped found a year ago, claiming PPBM had mistreated her.
Among her complaints were that she was removed from the party leaders’ WhatsApp chat group without any notification and that she had not been invited to PPBM’s first anniversary celebration on Sept 9.
The resignation by Hamidah meanwhile, a former Perak Umno state executive councillor, came three days after her sister Hamizura allegedly posted racist comments on Facebook that sparked condemnation from some party leaders as well as from Pakatan Harapan partners.
In a brief statement yesterday, PPBM secretary-general Shahruddin Md Salleh thanked Hamidah for her services, and said the party respected her decision to resign.
In April, another PPBM member Kamarulazman Habibur Rahman left the party, citing a loss of confidence in the party’s top leadership, particularly its president Muhyiddin and his deputy Muhkriz Mahathir.
“There is a class and caste system where only those who are close to the party’s top leaders are favoured,” Habibur was reported as saying then.